photo #9287126

A man was driving across the country for a long business trip when he took a wrong turn. While trying to pull a map from the glove compartment, he lost control of the wheel and slid off the road into a ditch. Thankfully, he was not hurt. But his car was stuck deep in the mud. After several useless attempts to get it out, the man decided to look for help. He walked down the road until he came to the nearest farmhouse and knocked on the door. An older farmer opened it, his hands rough from years of work. The driver explained what had happened. The farmer nodded slowly and said, “Wally can pull your car out of that ditch.” Then he pointed toward the yard, where an old, skinny mule was standing. The driver looked at the mule, then back at the farmer, hardly believing what he had just heard. “Yes, sir,” the farmer said confidently. “Wally can do the job.” The driver did not have many options, so he agreed. Together, they walked back to the stuck car with the old mule. When they arrived, the farmer put the harness on Wally, attached the straps to the car, and then shouted, “Pull, Fred! Pull, Jack! Pull, Ted! Pull, Wally!” The old mule dug his hooves into the ground, leaned forward, and with a few strong pulls, he actually dragged the car out of the ditch. The driver was amazed. He thanked the farmer sincerely, patted the old mule on his bony back, and finally asked, “But why did you call out all those names if Wally was the only mule here?” The farmer smiled and said, “Well, besides being old, Wally is blind. But as long as he believes he’s part of a team, there’s almost nothing he can’t do.” Sometimes, what gives us strength is not the size of the problem, or even the strength we think we have. Sometimes, it is simply knowing we are not pulling alone.