Who knows what is good and what is bad?

When an old farmer’s stallion wins a prize at a country show, his neighbor calls round to congratulate him, but the old farmer says, “Who knows what is good and what is bad?” The next day some thieves come and steal his valuable animal. His neighbor comes to commiserate with him, but the old man replies, “Who knows what is good and what is bad?” A few days later the spirited stallion escapes from the thieves and joins a herd of wild mares, leading them back to the farm. The neighbor calls to share the farmer’s joy, but the farmer says, “Who knows what is good and what is bad?” The following day, while trying to break in one of the wild mares, the farmer’s son is thrown and fractures his leg. The neighbor calls to share the farmer’s sorrow, but the old man’s attitude remains the same as before. The following week the army passes by, forcibly conscripting soldiers for a war, but they do not take the farmer’s son because he cannot walk. The neighbor thinks to himself, “Who knows what is good and what is bad?” and realizes that the old farmer must be a Taoist sage.

For example, a good friend of mine's husband lost his job because of a lying nutjob woman. She claimed sexual harassment because he rejected her advances. Long story short, the company fired him, even though he had witnesses to what really happened. He got hired on for more money at a better company, and the company he got fired from last year just went under last week. He'd have been out of a job with no prospects.

It was hard to understand why something so bad could have happened to him, but now, all I can say is, "God works in mysterious ways." Ways that we often can't understand without time and perspective.