A wise woman

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream.

The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious.

She looked at him with a questionable look and said, "What is it you would like from me?" He said, "Give me what you have inside you that caused you to give me the stone."

Lord, allow all those that YOU bring in our path to only see YOU and cause them to desire what YOU have placed within us. We give YOU thanks and praise always. For only YOU are worthy of our praise.