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Spiritism for Kids - Célia Xavier Camargo - Portuguese  Spanish
Year 8 - N° 402 - February 22, 2015

Translation
Johnny Silveira - silveirajohnny@yahoo.com
 

 

To Work Is To Pray

  

There once was a very religious man who wanted to serve the Lord with his life and his attitudes. Thus, Tadeu kept away from any less than dignifying acts, respecting the Lord and willing to do the best to his neighbours.

In his small property, he lived away from other human beings, constantly praying and begging the Lord to protect and help him so that he could love all nature, animals and people.

His family had abandoned him because they starved and did not agree with his way of life.

Still, with his thoughts always eleva-

ted to highest realms, Tadeu did nothing wrong, feeling intimately close to Jesus.

One day, a man appeared on the farm. Seeing Tadeu with his hands together praying, the man waited for him to finish. When he opened his eyes and saw the stranger, he smiled:

- Ah, my friend! Surely you were brought here by my prayers! What can I do for you? I am ready to serve you!

The visitor, wearing old and torn clothes, liked that reception from the owner of the property and pondered:

- Sir, I was once the owner of many lands. Unfortunately, with a prolonged drought I lost everything. Now I seek work. When I saw this good land for planting, I decided to ask if you could hire me to cultivate the soil, giving me as payment a small part of the harvest?

Tadeu thought for a moment and replied:

- I can’t, my brother. The Lord gave me this land, and I thank Him every day, however I want to return it as the Lord delivered it to me.

Sad for the missed opportunity, the old farmer left.

One other day, a lively young man came to the farm. He saw a man sitting on a hammock with his eyes closed, hands together, and waited for him to end the prayer. As he opened his eyes, Tadeu saw the stranger and wondered what he wanted, and the young man replied:

- Friend, I was passing by and as I saw a beautiful tree trunk certainly brought down by a storm, I would like to ask you to give me the trunk and I will make a beautiful piece of art that will be exposed for all to see.

The owner shook his head, regretting what happened:

- It is true, brother. We had a great storm in this region and the tree, the most beautiful on my farm, did not resist and fell to the ground.

- I'm sorry, friend.

After some thought, the farmer considered:

- Me too. However, I want to keep this trunk as it is, to always remember the beautiful tree to which this trunk gave life, branches and flowers.

All requests, petitions and proposals were useless. The owner of the farm did not give up the huge trunk. So the young man said goodbye, sadly.

After a few days, a man who saw the orchard full of fruit, many of which already rotting in the ground, came over and asked the owner to let him pick up the fruit and sell them at the market, in exchange for a share of the profits. But the owner of the farm said:

- I cannot, my brother. The Lord gave me the farm and I must preserve it all. The fruit fall and the birds have food to eat.

So, the man went away.

And that was how Tadeu acted with anything on the farm, wanting to keep it the way the Lord had entrusted it to him, to return it when the time came.

The years passed. The property was now completely destroyed; the fence fell down from neglect; the fruitful trees, lacking care, were eaten by bugs; the beautiful trunk, which had once been praised, now was just an old trunk destroyed by the action of the rain and worms. The soil which was good and productive before, was now been covered with pests and weeds.

As for the old farmer, he continued to pray, lamenting the destruction of his property, which had been so beautiful.

When he returned to the Spirit World, very sad, Tadeu saw a friendly Spirit and asked:

- Why did the Lord, Who gave me a such a beautiful place, took away all I had, turning it into something useless, despite my devotion and my constant prayers?

The Spiritual Friend smiled sadly and explained:

- Tadeu, my brother, the responsibility for the destruction of your property is yours, and not the Lord’s, Who is infinitely generous. In vain, people were sent there to help you work the land, plant seeds and get plentiful harvests, yielding much, to your own benefit and those who knocked on your door. Even that beautiful trunk that could have become a great work of art, which you would also collect the benefits, but you did not accept the pleadings of the artist we sent to help you.

Hanging his head, Tadeu cried, still not understand where he had erred:

- But, I did it all willing to do the right thing! Didn’t I spent my life dedicated to the service of the Lord through prayer! ...

- You really did. However, Tadeu, the Lord does not want his children to be eternally praying, but working to learn, produce, create better conditions for themselves and their fellow human beings. You never helped anyone, and you could have done so much for people! You will be held accountable even to the people who starved by your side and you did not notice.

Sad, Tadeu listened to him while he hung his head. His friend ended by saying:

- Jesus, our Friend, left us the greatest of all teachings: Love! Because faith without work means nothing. From now on Tadeu, remember: To work is to pray!

MEIMEI

(Psychographed by Celia X. de Camargo on 17/11/2014.) 


                                   

 



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