There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to Judge
things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and
look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in
the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest
son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe
what they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and
twisted. The second son said no–it was covered with green buds and full
of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms
that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful
thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said

yes I am fragile
fearful, selfish, deceiving
yes God works through me

© 2016 Dennis Ference

My book of original inspirational verses, From the Water’s Edge, is now available from https://www.createspace.com/6040109, http://www.amazon.com/dp/1530558018 and Kindle eBooks at Amazon. Also available at Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.