A story is told in southern France. It is the story of Blanquette, an independant goat who was willing to risk it all, and eventually did lose it all for freedom. The story tells that though she was well taken care of, she constantly pulled at the rope that tied her to a stake on the ground longing to run wild in the nearby hills. Her master tried to explain to her that the wolf lives in the hills and that he would swallow with one gulp. She would hear none of it. “I’ll fight him with my horns!” The desperate shepherd told Blanquette the story of the strongest goat he had. She did escape to the hills and there fought all night until finally at down, she was vanquished.
Eventually Blanquette freed herself and ran to the hills. There she played all day and satisfied herself with the lush abundant grass, until at dusk, she heard him. Slowly he came to her from the deep of the forest. He had waited for the perfect time as Blanquette was now tired. She was tired but she would fight. She would gloriously fight all night like the renowned goat she had heard about. She, too, will be sung about for her bravery. She did fight all night but glory is a cruel companion as at dawn, the wolf did win this combat and Blanquette was swallowed up whole. This story came back to me as I was reading a similar story in the Bible this week. It is the story of Jacob who also fought all night with an unbeatable adversary. Unlike Blanquette however, Jacob did not die at the hand of his nocturnal opponent. But like Blanquette, Jacob never gave up nor gave in. After all, that’s what his name meant. When in his mother’s womb he was fighting with his twin brother in order to be the first one out. Even when it looked like his brother beat him to the punch, he still didn’t give up and came out holding on to his brother’s heel. The name Jacob means, ‘heel-grabber’. In the same ‘jacobian’ manner, the night he met his aggressor, Jacob did not give up but continued the fight until he realised that his aggressor was actually an angel. So Jacob, (who of course never gives up) was going to get something for his troubles. He asked his angelic aggressor for a blessing, a blessing which he received in the form of an infirmity which made him limp for the rest of his life. What kind of blessing is that? This infirmity actually transformed Jacob into a new man. We actually learn and grow in character and virtue much more through struggles and infirmities than through comfort and strength. Jacob got his blessing and was able to become the person he needed to be in order to accomplish his role in life. His infirmity was actually a blessing in disguise. George Matheson, the famous composer of hymns, became totally blind as a young adult once said, "Dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorns." Actually, if it has no thorns, it must not be a rose!
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