Two Better Than One

Many years ago, I went to visit my uncle's home in Kanchanaburi. I saw this poor stray dog called "Da." She was a white regular Thai dog, so skinny to the bones and seemed to be scared all the time. Maybe she was the weakest one around there and other stronger dogs always get the food. I didn't know if anyone had abused her before. Da seemed to be afraid of human, too.  She always kept a distance from everyone.

I felt sorry for her. That day I got a bunch of leftover fried eggs from the lunch we had at a restaurant. So I prayed to God, please let Da come and take this food. I tried approaching her very slowly and placed the bowl on the ground. But she ran away. I tried circling around her slowly, sitting here and there, and got close to her bit by bit. She ran away. I tried calling her name softly and gesturing at the food bowl. She ran away. At that time I didn't understand why this is so hard and why God didn't help me. I was trying to do a kind thing to a poor animal, usually God would help right away. I tried for like twenty minutes or so but failed to gain her trust. She just kept moving away.

Finally, I was about to give up. My sister walked pass by, so I told her briefly about what I was trying to do but fail. My sister said "Let's try again. Let's put this bowl on the ground" So we did, and we tried to call the poor dog "Come one Da, come eat this food" The skinny white dog looked at the bowl and looked at us, she still wouldn't come any closer. Then my sister said, "Hey, let us runaway from the bowl. Maybe it'll work." So we just left the bowl there and ran very fast, as if we were being chased by something. It worked like miracle! After some meters away, we turned around and saw Da quickly to the food bowl and eat the fried eggs. She seemed to enjoy it very much. Maybe it was the best meal she had that week or that month, you never know. Not even tiny bits or crumbs were left in the bowl when she finished and walked away.

But heart and my sister's heart are filled with joy. We were so happy. At that moment, an understanding dawned in my mind. God didn't want me to do this alone. He wanted my sister to also share the joy of doing kind things for others. And maybe he wanted to teach me that, here on Earth, I should not try to do everything all on my own (which is something I often do)  I should let others be a part of any good projects. Two is better than one. The joy shared is always double joy.