The challenges are God’s gift to shape a better future

August 12, 2021

The challenges are God’s gift to shape a better future

A beautiful story of illiterate young boy – from rags to riches There was a young man in the remote village of Belupur named Rajeshwar. His father used to work at a local temple in the outskirts of the village, doing odd jobs such as ringing bells when the priests performed their elaborate rituals. The job suited the old man, who was completely illiterate and so was his son. Once he died, his job was taken over by Rajeshwar, who knew nothing better than those odd jobs. Slowly, the temple started gaining popularity, attracting many pilgrims and tourists. These pilgrims, who often came from various parts across the country, faced difficulties in understanding the local dialect of the temple staff. As the footfall of such tourists started increasing, the temple management decided to recruit educated people who could interact with the pilgrims. The decision, however good for the temple, unleashed wrath on the poor Rajeshwar as he lost his job. Devastated and estranged, he started walking towards his village, which was across a small hill from the temple. With only a few pennies left in his pocket, he was walking the long path with no hope in his heart for a better future.

But God has a definite plan laid out for all. We don't have a vision to foresee His plan.

On the way to his village, Rajeshwar felt the desire to eat a paan. However, there was no paan shop on the long path. Suppressing his craving, he kept walking and reached his home. He had a eureka moment when he thought of addressing the market gap by opening a paan shop. He took some money on loan from the village money lender and opened a small paan stall. His business proved a huge success and soon he opened some more shops around the village. He became a rich man soon after.

Few years later, a bank opened in Belupur. All the villagers started to deposit their savings in the bank for more safety and interest. As the bank staff learned about Rajeshwar, who was now one of the richest men in the village, they urged him to deposit his money in the bank as well. Rajeshwar decided to follow suit and went to the bank with huge bags of money. As he was completing the formalities, he was asked by the bank manager to sign some forms. He then revealed that he was illiterate and would rather put his thumb print on the form. The manager was shocked at the revelation and asked Rajeshwar if he ever wondered about how much more money he could have made had he been educated.

Raju just laughed off and said : “ Had I been educated; I would still be ringing bells at the local temple”.

Moral of the story
God always knows what is best for us, even if we do not understand His plans at the moment. Whatever the situation, put in your best efforts, as best as you can and have faith in God. Sooner or later you will find the way.