'"The difference between stumbling blocks and steppingstones is the way you take them," a voice over the radio declared recently.
A stumbling block, the dictionary says, is an impediment or obstacle, while a steppingstone is a means of advancement or progress. Can it be, therefore, that what seems to one person a stumbling block, with frustration and failure in its wake, can be viewed by another as a possible steppingstone to achievement? Yes, we all know that this is true, and that it always has been true; and we can prove it in Christian Science.
The Biblical record of Joseph is an outstanding example of this. Sold into slavery in his youth by his brothers, Joseph might well have given up in despair at the prospect which lay ahead of him. His heart might well have been filled with anger and hate, hurt pride, self-pity, and a sense of futility. His father and his brothers were rich and free, living in their own beloved country, with their families and friends close by, while he was a slave in a strange country and among strange people. But Joseph did not give up in despair. Instead, he used every adverse experience as an opportunity to rise higher, and finally became an essential and trusted member of his master's household.
