Three Wishes
"I never ask God to give me anything; I only ask him to put me where things are." ~Mexican Proverb
I had the luxury today of eating lunch with my children at school. When I walked our daughter back to her class, I caught a glimpse of the journal topic of the day. The question that the teacher had posed was "If a genie offered you three wishes, what would they be?". I was intrigued by this question, and asked my daughter what her answers were.
"That was easy, Mom!" she said. "I wished to be able to fly." That seemed good enough for a first wish, but I wanted to know about the other two.
"I decided to save the other two wishes." she explained to me. "With a wish like my first one, I'll need the other two wishes just in case I get myself into trouble while I'm flying."
With the wisdom of that statement, I got to thinking. Every time I've had the opportunity to ponder what I'd like for wishes, I've had no trouble filling all three. At any given moment, I can think of more than three things I'd like to have. Sometimes they are whims, sometimes they are wishes, sometimes they are unselfish desires for the good of mankind.
To follow in my daughter's footsteps, I thought long and hard about the one wish rule. If I chose one wish and kept the other two for backups, what would I wish for?
I'd wish to be able to make a difference. However that is supposed to look, wherever I am supposed to be, my one wish would take me to the places where I'm needed most. With a wish like that, I sure would do well to save the other two like my daughter has planned. Chances are I'd find a need for those other two wishes down the road.
I like the one wish rule. This makes it easy to see what is truly important. Like wanting to fly, or wanting to make a difference.
I had the luxury today of eating lunch with my children at school. When I walked our daughter back to her class, I caught a glimpse of the journal topic of the day. The question that the teacher had posed was "If a genie offered you three wishes, what would they be?". I was intrigued by this question, and asked my daughter what her answers were.
"That was easy, Mom!" she said. "I wished to be able to fly." That seemed good enough for a first wish, but I wanted to know about the other two.
"I decided to save the other two wishes." she explained to me. "With a wish like my first one, I'll need the other two wishes just in case I get myself into trouble while I'm flying."
With the wisdom of that statement, I got to thinking. Every time I've had the opportunity to ponder what I'd like for wishes, I've had no trouble filling all three. At any given moment, I can think of more than three things I'd like to have. Sometimes they are whims, sometimes they are wishes, sometimes they are unselfish desires for the good of mankind.
To follow in my daughter's footsteps, I thought long and hard about the one wish rule. If I chose one wish and kept the other two for backups, what would I wish for?
I'd wish to be able to make a difference. However that is supposed to look, wherever I am supposed to be, my one wish would take me to the places where I'm needed most. With a wish like that, I sure would do well to save the other two like my daughter has planned. Chances are I'd find a need for those other two wishes down the road.
I like the one wish rule. This makes it easy to see what is truly important. Like wanting to fly, or wanting to make a difference.
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