A man once telephoned Reverend(a spiritual leader of the Christian Church) . The man was despondent and told the Reverend that he had nothing left to live for. Reverend invited the man over to his office. "Everything is gone, hopeless," the man told him. "I'm living in deepest darkness. In fact, I've lost heart for living altogether."
The Reverend smiled sympathetically.
"Let's take a look at your situation," he said calmly. On a sheet of paper he drew a vertical line down the middle. He suggested that the list on the left side have the things the man had lost, and on the right, the things he had left. "You won't need that column on the right side," said the man sadly. "I have nothing left, period."
The Reverend asked, "When did your wife leave you?"
"What do you mean? She hasn't left me. My wife loves me!"
"That's great!" said Reverend enthusiastically. "Then that will be number one in the right-hand column—Wife hasn't left. Now, when were your children jailed?"
"That's silly. My children aren't in jail!"
"Good! That's number two in the right-hand column—Children not in jail," said Reverend, jotting it down.
After a few more questions in the same vein, the man finally got the point and smiled in spite of himself. "Funny, how things change when you think of them that way," he said.
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