Skip to main content

Mountains of Hope


            Dashrath Manjhi did not want to be famous.  In fact, if given the chance, he never would have chosen the circumstances that made him so.  However, his life changed the lives of countless others.

            Manjhi was born in 1934 and grew up in a poor labourer family in Gahlour village near Gaya in Bihar, India.  Soon after his marriage, his wife became ill.  The nearest doctor was located in village that was 70 kilometres (43 miles) away, but before he got her there, she died.  Not wanting others to suffer the same fate as his wife, Manjhi spent the next 22 years (from 1960 to 1982) digging a road through the mountain that separated his village from others.  His 360-foot-long (110 meters), 25-foot-deep (7.6 meters) and 30-foot-wide (9.1 meters) “through-cut” reduced the distance between the villages from 70 kilometers to one!  The efforts of “Mountain Man” (as he came to be known) impacted so many that when he died in 2007 he was honoured with a state funeral.

            There is a time coming when, “The dwelling of God [will be] with men, and he will live with them… He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).  However, that time is not here yet.  Unfortunately, we still live in a world marred by sin and, seemingly, full of crying, pain and disappointment.  That being the case, the question becomes, “What will you do when faced with trouble?”

            Some allow the pain of this life to make them bitter.  They turn inward and focus on how “unfairly” things have turned out.  That is a natural response and it is understandable.  Others, though, like Dashrath Manjhi, are able to turn their tragedy into something good and positive.  This takes a lot more maturity (both personal and Spiritual) and it is often beyond where I live, but if we can turn outward, if we can think not only about ourselves but others, then some amazing things can happen.

            In Romans 5:3-5, the apostle Paul says, “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us”.

            If we can find God’s hope, even in the midst of our own suffering,  then we can share that hope with others and we can make this imperfect world just a little better.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more