The Blind Mule

Image by Pixaline from Pixabay 

When I was fifteen, my dad arranged for us to ride the mules down the Grand Canyon and stay overnight at the Phantom Ranch. That night, we sat around a campfire beneath a starry sky and listened to our guide tell stories.

The one I remember the best is the blind mule.

Preparing a group of clients for the ride down the canyon, the guide gave them instructions. One man questioned each one with, “Why?”

The guide explained the last and most important rule. “When we start down the trail, keep your mule close to the others.”

As expected, the client asked, “Why?”

All patience gone, the guide replied, “Because your mule is blind, and he won’t be able to follow the trail without smelling the mule in front of him.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Mount up.”

He led them out of the corrals and down the start of the trail.

It is customary for the mule train to stop for pictures below the Kolb Brothers Studio. The mules turn and walk to the edge of the trail and stop. The man who’d given the guide such a bad time screamed and bailed off the back of his mule. He scrambled up the steep, rocky shoulder to the parking lot and disappeared.  

The guide was called into the superintendent’s office. “A client came in here bleeding from numerous scrapes and bruises after jumping off the mule and climbing up to the parking lot. Something about a blind mule?”

The guide described the client’s attitude and his response.

The superintendent rolled his eyes and shook his head. “In the future, please refrain from telling the clients their mule is blind, especially before you stop to take their pictures at the trailhead.”

The guide stifled a laugh and replied. “I’ll try.”

 

Now that I’m older, I can identify with that client, always asking why. I do the same thing to God. Why did this or that happen? Why didn’t He answer my prayers in the way I expected? The list goes on.

The guide showed a good deal of patience with the man, but being human, he eventually ran out. Thank goodness God has infinitely more. Otherwise, I’d have worn out His patience long ago.

Thank you, Lord, for your patience, love, and understanding. Amen.