Twice Over
Many years ago I took my young nephew Mark to an ice cream shop located next to a dairy farm. He ordered a single-scoop chocolate ice cream cone. We walked outside to enjoy our treats and watch the cows grazing nearby. Distracted by the animals, Mark tipped his cone and the ice cream plopped to the ground. I watched his crestfallen face as the chocolate melted into the dirt. We hurried back to the store to buy another cone, but the shop owner refused our money. Instead he freely gave us a replacement cone, with a double scoop of ice cream—one chocolate, one vanilla. The owner gave Mark twice over what he had lost! Sometimes we may feel like Mark, watching sadly as sweet things in our lives slip away. The older we get, the more things can escape our grip and fall away from us—treasured relationships, pain-free mobility, mental alertness, financial reserves. Losses accumulate until our hearts nearly break. If we are wise, we