The story is told of a servant boy who was fond of saying "It is good!"

The story is told of a servant boy who was fond of saying “it is good”. His master and others around him never really understood him, and soon enough he rubbed the master the wrong way.

 On that fateful day, he followed his master, a hunter, to the forest to hunt. After a few hours of stalking and catching nothing, the master was ready to give up but the servant boy kept saying “it is good”. Soon, the master sighted a deer. He aimed the gun at the heart of the deer and fired.

 The hunter fell to the ground shouting, he had forgotten to remove the safety from the gun in his haste and the bullet had blown his fingers. While the master was mourning the loss of his fingers, the servant boy consoled his master and said “it is good”

 Annoyed, the hunter jailed the servant boy and soon forgot about him.

 Several months after, the hunter was on another hunting expedition in the forest. He was ambushed by a clan of cannibals who had not eaten in three days. Quickly, he was apprehended and tied to a tree while a fire was being set underneath him.

 The cannibals had a ritual they performed on every victim they intend to eat. They would dance around the victim. It was while they were dancing around the hunter that the leader of the clan noticed the hunter’s missing fingers.

 Suddenly, the dance stopped and he ordered the hunter to be untied and set free. It was a taboo to eat deformed humans, he explained to wide eyed members of his clan.

 In fury, the hunter was beaten severely by the cannibal clan before he was abandoned. Mustering all his strength, the hunter trudged home.

 It was while he was narrating his ordeal to fellow hunters in the village square some days after that he remembered the words of the servant boy. It is good

 He hurried to the prison to set the boy free.

 “It is good ” he concluded excitedly after telling the servant boy of his experience. “If I had ten fingers, I would have been dead by now”

 The servant boy smiled tiredly; prison life had taken its toll on him and he was lean and haggard. The hunter apologized profusely for his unfair treatment.

 The servant boy stunned the hunter by his words.

 “Master, it is good that you locked me up”

 Puzzled, the hunter asked the boy to explain. The servant boy told the hunter that if he had not been locked up, then he would have been with him on that hunting expedition and he would have been captured too and killed since he had no bodily deformity.

 The hunter’s eyes widened in understanding. It is good!

 In all things, it is good!

 So, as you take stock of the year 2013, and you remember the hurts and the heartbreaks, failed businesses and relationships, loss and death of loved ones, and other negative life events. Remember, it is good.

 Develop an attitude of gratitude.

 Personally, I am being grateful. I dare say that my life is great. Not because it is perfect, or that I have everything I want, or that I am where I am supposed to be. No, far from it. It is because I know that this is where God wants me to be at this time, and it’s all part of His plan. I say my life is great because God is in it.

 Did I fail this year? Plenty of times. I failed God, I failed myself, I failed friends and loved ones. There were times when I was ashamed of myself. But I am grateful.

 Did I make mistakes? Stupid ones that looking back I wonder what I was thinking and I want to smack myself at the back of the my head? A dozen times. Scandalous mistakes? Yes. But I am grateful that I realize them for what they are. Mistakes. I am grateful for the strength to accept them and the consequences and to forgive myself and learn from them and move on. And grow.

 Did I miss out on great opportunities? Ones that would never come again? Yes, many. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the ones I seized, that yielded great outcomes. I am learning to always seize the day.

 Did I cry? Heart wrenching cries, soaking my pillow? Oh yes. But I am grateful that I had the strength to carry on each day and to always find the energy to smile.

 Did I hear disturbing news, that robbed me of sleep and plagued my dreams? Did I worry and fret? Yes, in spades. But I am grateful for His comfort and that I didn’t lose hope.

 Did I feel joy beyond compare at things that happened to me? Such joy that bubbles and threatens to make you explode, and you have to let some out in screams and squeals of ecstasy? Yes! I am grateful for those times too, and I am humbled because I didn’t deserve them but it was God’s gift from the richness of His Mercies.

 Did I achieve set goals? Yes. Even if not all. I am still grateful I took giant steps forward. Okay, maybe they were more of baby steps, but they were steps in the right direction.

 I am also grateful for wonderful moments with friends and loved ones. Moments of pure pleasure, of hope, when you feel like you can achieve anything and do the impossible, emotions evoked by wonderful people all around. Those moments are splashes of colour on an otherwise dull canvas of my life. I was touched in ways I never imagined.

 I am grateful to God for the gift of life, waking up each day, even when I thought I didn’t deserve another day. I am grateful for His unending mercies and lovingkindnesses.

 I am grateful for you, my readers, who have encouraged me and supported me all through the year.

 For all that happened in 2013, I am grateful because I know, it is good!

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Happy new year in advance!

I would love to hear from you. How did your 2013 go? What will you say about it?