Every once in a while, we come across a story that is both meaningful and thought provoking. Recently, a good friend sent me the following story on friendship:

Two Horses
(author unknown)

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse, but if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one the horses and you'll discover that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.

This alone is amazing. If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow. As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, And that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray. When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need. Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way. Good friends are like that. You may not always see them, but you know they are always there. So remember to "be kinder than necessary- Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

How often do we find ourselves in the position of being "blind" to our weaknesses, or to the love that He has for us? I'm afraid it's much too often -- for some it's even on a daily basis. It is because of our weaknesses that we sometimes find it hard to believe that He loves us. So God puts people in our lives to remind us of all the good that we do. The "little bell" comes in the form of a phone call, a letter, an email, a hug, a smile, a gift. It also comes in an act of service on our behalf, or a simply stated "I love you." Sometimes it comes in the form of loving prayers on our behalf, even when we're unaware of them.

The other aspect of this story is being the ones with the little bell. As true friends, we have a multitude of ways to serve and love others. With both temporal and spiritual means, we can bless the lives of those around us. In our overwhelmingly busy lives we can still create some quality time for those who could use our loving care. The key is to shift our thinking from being "task-oriented" to becoming "people-oriented." For those of us who are task-oriented, people often become one of the tasks on the list; this means that helping or spending time with the people in our lives can become something we rush through to accomplish (like cleaning the house or other daily tasks that need to get done).

If we can reverse that way of thinking to allow the people in our lives to be our top priority -- in other words, put time with people into our schedule first -- and then fill in tasks with the time that is left. When we look back on our lives, which of those two things will we remember most? The relationships that we cherished, gave time and love to, or the time we spent accomplishing more tasks?

The spirit of Thanksgiving can go both ways, receiving gifts with gratitude and extending ourselves to help others.