By Chrissy Bernal

I had a conversation with my neighbor this weekend that was like a virtual slap in the face. 

She reminded me of a story about a big boulder that was blocking a major road.  Each day, commuters would simply go around the boulder, despite how much trouble it was.  One day, though, God told a man to push the boulder.

Each morning, the man would push the boulder with all his might--day after day, after day.  After quite some time the man angrily looked up to the skies and said, “God, I’ve pushed the boulder everyday just like you asked me to, but I haven’t moved it very much.  I’m wasting my time.” To which God replied, “I asked you to push the boulder; not move it.”  The man was too busy focusing on what he thought was the purpose of his actions and was neglecting to see the other results of his efforts.  Not only was his physique better, but he was stronger and faster as a result of his consistent pushing.

Little did my neighbor know; I had just been expressing some frustration to my husband.  There have been a few things lately that I’ve been working at diligently and consistently praying about and have felt like I was just “spinning my wheels.”

My neighbor’s story forced me to step back and look at what I had learned, what skills I had gained, what skills I had strengthened, who I had helped…She made me realize that I had let my normally strong “the glass is half full” attitude temporarily slip. 

I always say there’s no such thing as coincidence and my neighbor’s seemingly out of the blue story was the welcomed jolt I needed in order to bring myself back to my positive way of looking at any situation.

What boulders in your life have you been trying to move and looking at them with negative tunnel vision?