A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into
the farmer's well. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer
sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the
well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors
together and told them what had happened. He enlisted them to help haul
dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his
neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought
struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of
dirt landed on his back, HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he
did, blow after blow.
"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and
step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the
blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic
and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
Well, it wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted,
STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like would
bury him, actually saved him...all because of the manner in which he
handled his adversity.
Genesis 50:20