A Grandfather Clock Lesson – Life’s Burden or Help?

Date Added: March 09, 2008 12:51:52 AM

The Burden:
We have all been there. Currently I work with a guy that is a real pain. Day in and day out I consider him a burden for me to endure until someday I can retire. But wait, who will I be when I retire? Just three weeks ago I became a new grandfather. What kind of a man will my grandson remember me as? Will I be the kind of man who understands the pains of others if I never experienced those pains myself? Life is full of pain often inflicted by those nearest to us like the guy I work with. Could it be that he is weighting me down, or could he be the one providing just what I need to help me develop the character that my grandson will look up to? Is he a burden or a help?

The Help:
Do you know that theoretically speaking a pendulum should swing forever in a constant pattern with perfect timing? Galileo discovered this in the 17th century. However, he also discovered that eventually the theoretically perfect pendulum would slow down. The pendulum needed something to assist it to keep it ever striving for a perfect swing. A small force constantly irritating the swing was necessary. Galileo solved this problem by introducing a weight acting with what is called an escapement mechanism. This combination provides the extra push that the pendulum needs to swing in perfect harmony. This weight, or burden helps the pendulum be what it should be.

Putting it together:
Let us put these two seemingly unrelated thoughts about life together. In order for a grandfather clock to continue to keep time as accurately as possible, a weight or burden is necessary. The same is true in our lives. We all have one common thing in our character. None of us are perfect. Yet we strive to be that person that we want our grandchildren to see. We want that perfect character to be found in us. And, we want the generations following us to look back and see the man or woman that life has made us. Sometimes like the weight that is found in a grandfather clock, we need a weight, or burden in our lives to help us strive to gain that character.

Enjoy Life:
When you look at a beautiful grandfather clock what do you see? I hope that this article has helped you to see the weights inside the clock or the burdens in your life in a different light. The weights or burdens are necessary to build our character. I know that the weights in my life are helping me to build my character. Yes, just three weeks ago I became a grandfather. We all want our grandchildren to someday look at us with the same admiration that we all see in those beautiful grandfather clocks. We need to look at those burdens in our lives as the necessary pain to make us the person that our grandchildren will admire.

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