Apache Seasons

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 it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full
of life and fulfillment.

The man then
explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but
only one season in the tree's life.
 He told them
that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the
essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that
life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are fulfilled.
Moral of the story:
Don't let the pain
of one season
destroy the joy of
all the rest. Don't
judge life by one
difficult season.
Persevere through
the difficult
patches and better
times are sure to
come some time.
Live Simply ...
Love Generously ...
Care Deeply ...
Speak Kindly ...
Leave the Rest to
God.
Happiness keeps You
Sweet,
Trials keep You
Strong,
Sorrows keep You
Human,
Failures keep You
Humble,
Success keeps You
Glowing,
But Only God keeps
You Going!

Found at too many links to post..:>)