A Living Presence (A Parable)

A Living Presence

(A Parable)

A young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked.  And the guide answered, "Yes, and the way is hard.  And you will be old before you reach the end of it.  But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy and she could not believe that anything could be better than these days.  So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way.  And the sun shone on them and life was good.  And the young mother cried, "Nothing can be lovelier than this."

Then came night and storm; and the path was dark and the children shook with fear and cold.  But the mother drew close to them and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "We are not afraid, mother, for you are near; and no harm can come to us."  And the mother said, "This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary.  But at last she said to the children, "A little patience and we will be there."  So the children climbed and when they reached the top they said, "we could not have done this without you, mother."

And that night the mother looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardship.  Yesterday I gave them courage; today I gave them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth - clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled.  The mother said, "Look up: lift your eyes to the light."  And the children looked and saw above the clouds the everlasting light, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness.  And that night the mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God.

And the days went on and the weeks and the months and years, and the mother grew aged, and she was little and bent. But the children were tall and strong and walked with courage.  And when the way was hard, they lifted her over the rough places.  At last they came to a hill and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and the golden gates and they flung wide.    

And the mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey, and now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."  And the children said, "You will always walk with us, mother!"  They stood and watched her walk through the golden gate; then the gates closed after her.  And they said, "We cannot now see our mother but she is with us still - she is a living presence."