My wife and I just spent a few days with friends in Los Angeles. Because we live in a small town of about 2500 people, the culture shock never escapes me when I arrive in a city this size. The skyline reveals skyscrapers which always makes me uncomfortable knowing that the city is build on a fault line. When I visited the Lancaster fire station, my friend, Capt. Scott Polgar showed me the fault line following a freeway through the city. Many cities built on the Ring of Fire, like Los Angeles, are reviewing their building code. The stiffer the building is, the more it has a chance to collapse. So instead of reinforcing it with steel and concrete, they are learning to build the foundation with material and architecture that allows it space and movement to absorb the seismic tremor. This principle reminded me of one of the many Aesop’s fables I had to memorize while in grade school in France. It is called, 'The Oak and the Reed’. In the parable, a mighty and strong oak boasts of its might and strength. Tall, straight, and strong as he is, he condescends the Reed' who has to bow his head yielding to every whim of the wind. Eventually, a strong wind comes and uproots the mighty oak while the reed survives the storm through his ability to 'bend’. Isn't it true also in life? Whether in marriage, parenthood, business, or in leadership of any kind, we are less likely to suffer the humiliation of the oak if we are able to allow ourselves to gently 'bend’ with the 'wind’ around us. Compromise is not a bad word. It is simply the ability to work with others while including them in our thought pattern and modus operandi. This usually makes for stronger more unified teams. I don't know who said, 'How the mighty have fallen…!’, but it is King Solomon who said, 'Pride goes before a destruction.’ Prov 16:18 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oak_and_the_Reed And one version for the kids... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3WAz34yOLs
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