CBSE Class X -First Flight- A Letter to God by G. L. Fuentes

A Letter to God by G. L. Fuentes

Some food for thought… We communicate with our friends, teachers, relations, and superiors verbally or through letters, emails, etc. We can’t communicate with any mortal using our mind. On the contrary, we convey our thoughts with God mentally, not through letters or mails.
Lencho, the humble farmer, was a very simple and pure man. In a way, he was naĂ¯ve too. In his hour of distress, he chose to say his wishes to God through letter. We might feel it a very foolish act, but if we examine the story, our mind is swayed by Lencho’s simplicity, and his complete faith in God. From the story, he emerges with an radiant aura of piousness.

The story .. Lencho was a small farmer with a modest land holding where he grows corn. His small house standing lonely in the midst of a valley had his five children and his wife. The elder ones among his children helped Lencho in the farms. The younger ones just played around.
The rich ripe corn plants filled Lencho’s heart with joy. Some seasonal flowers blossomed nearby signaling a good harvest. However, the corn plants were thirsty, and showed all signs of distress. Lench desperately needed some rain – some water to quench the thirst of his corn plants.
Luckily for him, clouds gathered in the sky. Lencho was excited. He told his wife that the wait for rain was finally going to end. The wife summoned all the children home for dinner. Just around then, big drops of rain started to fall making Lencho even more excited. Voluminous clouds from the north-east gathered in the sky. Lencho, unable to contain his joy, went outdoors to have his body drenched in the welcome rain. He said that the water drops were like the raining of cash – the bigger drops were worth ten cents, and the smaller ones were worth five cents. He saw a bumper crop and a good income.

When Lencho was lost in the thought of his corn crop getting the life-giving showers, he was jolted by seeing a strong gust of wind coming swooping down on his field. Hailstorms came pounding down on the area. The children, curious as ever, rushed outside to collect the large ice pieces.

Lencho became increasing worried as the monstrous wind continued to ravage the area with heavy downpour and the blistering hails. The corn field, the hill side, the open spaces, all looked as if covered with a white blanket. It was the hails that had settled on his crop.

The trees were shredded by the falling snow pieces. Not a single leaf remained on them. The rich harvest of corn lay in tatters. The tender flowers bore the brunt of the hails. Lencho surveyed his crop that was worth nothing now. Wryly, he told his son that a swarm of locusts, perhaps, would have left behind something to salvage. He murmured to his son that there will be no corn that year for them to eat. Mournfully, he said that they there was none they could look up to in their difficult time. Hunger loomed large on his family.

Oral comprehension check …

  1. What did Lencho hope for .. Lencho hoped for a bountiful corn harvest that could get him a lot of money when sold.
  2. Why did Lencho say that the rain drops are like silver coins .. That year, Lencho could sell part of his excess crop and earn a nice amount. His happiness reflected in his comment.
  3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s field .. The rain started with some heavy drops of water falling, but soon, it became a horrifying hailstorm with strong winds and heavy shower. The hailstorm ruined Lencho’s corn crop completely.
  4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the rain stopped… Lencho was distraught to see his crop completely destroyed. He began to ponder how he would feed his family in the months ahead. Fear, and dejection gripped his mind.

In that hour of gloom, every member of Lencho’s family believed God to be the ultimate savior.

They were all convinced that lack of corn wouldn’t starve them to death. Lencho spent a sleepless night thinking of the omniscient God who saw everything and understood everything. Lencho was a stout farm hand,no doubt, but he had learnt how to write. He thought he would write a mercy petition to God.

The next day was a Sunday. He began his day by writing down what he wanted to communicate to God. It was sincere outpouring of his grief and his prayer. He set out to the nearby town to mail it to God.

The letter was an appeal for 100 pesos that could enable him to raise a fresh crop and feed his family till the next crop. The letter was a prayer that came deep from his heart.

The envelope had just one word as address – God.

With worries still biting his mind, he walked to the town with the letter. He affixed a stamp on it, and dropped it in the mail box at the post office.

In due course,  an employee of the post office saw the letter with the unique address and went to his boss, somewhat amused at the addressee. The post master was a jovial man. He too had a hearty laugh, but soon realized that he was holding something unique in his hand. He instantly concluded it was a communication of a simple believer for his God. The simplicity and the devotion behind the letter moved the post master. He decided that the simple man deserved a reply. After all, God never fails to take note of a sincere prayer. He opened the letter to read its contents. It became evident that the sender couldn’t be satisfied with mere words only. The need was for some material assistance that needed money. He thought for a while, and decided that the need of the man had to be met. He spoke to his colleagues. All of them gave whatever they could spare. The postmaster gave his share. All put together, it couldn’t reach 100 pesos, but crossed the half-way mark. The post master neatly put the money inside a cover, signing off the letter with the single word, ‘God’.

Oral comprehension check …

  1. Who and what had Lencho had faith in? What did he do .. Lencho had an unwavering faith in the kindness of God. He knew that God knew everything and understood everything. So, he decided to beseech his mercy through a simple letter through post office.
  2. Who read the letter .. The letter-sorter in the post office read it first and gave it to the post master to read it.
  3. What did the post master do then .. The postmaster was moved by the simplicity and sincerity of the sender, and decided to respond with whatever cash he could gather. He acted on behalf of God.

The Sunday Lencho reached the post office expectantly. The postman in the counter handed over the reply letter to him. The benign post master looked out from his chamber to see how Lencho reacted. He felt happy within for the small charity he had done on God’s behalf.

Lencho was so sure of God’s benevolence that he had all but assumed that the cover would have his 100 pesos. However, the amount was less. He was miffed to see the shortfall. He knew God can never be a miser, and could not make a counting mistake.

He suspected that the post office staff possibly had pilfered the amount. Seething in resentment, he wanted to approach God again with a request to send the remaining 30 pesos, as his envelope contained just 70 pesos. He asked for a piece of paper and ink from the counter, and went to the writing desk to pen his thoughtful letter. While thanking God for the generosity, he asked Him to send the 30 pesos directly to him avoiding the post office. He didn’t want another pilferage!

Oral comprehension check

  1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter with money in it .. Lencho was not surprised at all, because he believed God would grant him his request.
  2. What made him angry … He found just 70 pesos instead of the 100 pesos he thought God had sent him. He suspected that the post office staff had pilfered the amount. This made him angry.

————————–END———————-

Questions and answers will be posted soon.

 


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