Coal and the Crystal

Read between the lines, find peace and hope.

The Coal and the Crystal

(a modern fairy tale)

In a place, not too far from where you live, Johnathan and Jessica lived on a small, sustainable farm.

They had chickens for eggs.

They had cows and sheep for meat, milk, wool and fertilizer.

They had a huge garden for vegetables and herbs.

They also had a lot a bills.

The bills were a problem.

They worried about the bills all the time.

Sometimes they couldn’t sleep.

Sometimes they were distracted from their chores.

Sometimes they were grumpy and they argued.

One day, while they were arguing, there was a knock at the door.

At the door was a raggedy old woman who lived down the road.

Jessica was always happy to see neighbors and welcomed her in.

After visiting for a few minutes, Johnathan excused himself and left in a huff.

Jessica was embarrassed but offered the neighbor a cold drink and ignored Johnathan’s bad mood.

The neighbor declined the drink, but said she had brought a present. She took a newspaper-wrapped package out of her pack and laid it on the table.

Jessica opened it and inside was a beautiful crystal.

“Oh, how lovely! I will cherish it!” She placed it on the side counter as the old woman exited the kitchen and went home.

Johnathan returned from raking the chicken yard and picked up the package on the counter.

Inside was a lump of coal!

Jessica looked at it and saw the crystal.

Johnathan looked a little closer. “What are we supposed to do with this coal? He asked. We don’t even have a fireplace?”

Days passed and the package sat on the counter. One morning after a restless night, Johnathan stomped through the kitchen on the way out to feed the animals. He saw the package on the counter, picked up the coal and chucked it out the door in the direction of the garden.

Jessica came into the kitchen some hours later and saw the empty wrapper. The crystal was missing!

Jessica’s heart was broken! The beautiful crystal was gone. Just looking at it had made her happy. Where could it be? She looked everywhere. It was nowhere. It was gone.

Of course Johnathan had no idea where the “crystal” was as he had thrown out the “coal.”

After several days of confrontation over the crystal or the coal, and of course, the bills, the couple was barely speaking.

It was clear that they saw things differently. The differences were tearing them apart.

Jessica saw the farm as an oasis,

Johnathan saw it as a burden.

Jessica saw the country as a quiet place in a chaotic world.

Johnathan saw it as a dull place where routine was all that ever happened.

Jessica saw the bills as their opportunity to get their spending under control.

Johnathan saw the bill as a burden that they would never be able to carry.

Jessica saw the old woman’s gift as a beautiful crystal to be treasured.

Johnathan saw it as a dirty piece of coal to throw away.

Something had to change!

Days went by as Jessica continued to look for the crystal.

Johnathan never thought about it at all.

Meanwhile both Johnathan and Jessica thought about the bills. Perhaps they could find a way to solve their problems, keep the farm, and find a happy and peaceful compromise.

One day Jessica proposed a solution:

“Johnathan,” she said,” you are overwhelmed by all the chores you have to do with the animals. Could we sell some of them, have less work for you, and keep only what we need?”

“Of course, what a great idea. We could use the money from the sale to pay off some of the bills.”

“And I was thinking about the chickens.” Added Jessica. “We always have too many eggs. Let’s sell the eggs and put the extra money toward the bills.”

“Another great idea!” enthused Johnathan.

“Another thing we have too much of is produce from the garden. We could sell what we have too much of at the same time as the eggs.” Jennifer added.

“I think we may have come up with a solution. We have less work, and more money for bills. And there will be fewer things for us to disagree about.” Johnathan said hopefully.

“We could end up with some extra money every month and go into town to see a play, go dancing, or to a movie.” Jessica suggested.

“Wow! Are you serious?” asked Johnathan. “That would be great. Let’s try it.”

So Jessica and Johnathan got busy, working hard to put their new plan into place.

It worked!

Over time, they paid down their bills, had less stress, plenty of food and a happier life.

The sale of eggs and produce was so successful that Jessica made a plan to expand the garden. As she was clearing a plot to plant more vegetables, she saw something sparkling in the long grass.

There is was! The crystal!

“Wooo-oooh!” Jessica squealed as she scooped it up. Running back to the house she called for Johnathan to come and see what she had found.

She placed the crystal under a napkin on the counter.

Johnathan came in just then and together they walked over to look under the napkin at Jessica’s treasure.

Johnathan wrapped his arm around Jessica’s waist and lifted the napkin.

There on the counter was a beautiful crystal. They both looked at it with joy.

It was the perfect addition to their new joyful and peaceful life.