A candle loses nothing if it is used to light another one.
A long time ago in China , a girl named Li-Li got married & went to live
with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she
couldn't get along with mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very
different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law' s habits. In
addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.
Days passed, and weeks passed. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped
arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that,
according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law
and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing
Li-Li's poor husband great distress.
Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law' s bad temper and
dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it! Li-Li went
to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the
situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve
the problem once and for all..
Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally said, 'Li-Li, I will help you
solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you.'
Li-Li said, 'Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do.'Mr.
Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of
herbs. He told Li-Li, 'You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your
mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore,
I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her
body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these
herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspect you, when
she dies, you must be very careful to be actively friendly towards her. 'Don't
argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen.' Li-Li was so
happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering
her mother-in-law.
Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the
specially treated food to her mother-in-law. . She remembered what Mr. Huang
had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her
mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother.
After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had
practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never
got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument with her mother-in-law in six
months because she now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.
The mother-in-law' s attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love
Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li
was the best daughter-in- law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law
were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Li-Li's husband
was very happy to see what was happening.
One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again She said,
'Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my
mother-in-law. She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own
mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her.'
Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head.. 'Li-Li, there's nothing to worry
about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to
improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward
her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her.'
There is a wise Chinese saying: 'The person who loves others will also be
loved in return.' God might be trying to work in another person's life through
you.
'A candle loses nothing if it is used to light another one.
And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if
we do not grow weary - Paul The Apostle
LIVE well .... LAUGH often ... LOVE much.
writer is a B.tech
