Deacon Jude Tam Tran

A JUMP FOR JOY

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." — Proverbs 16:9
"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow." — James 4:13-14

In a small village in northern Vietnam, people possessed a talent so extraordinary that it would make modern-day gymnasts, balance artists, and delivery drivers shake their heads in disbelief.

They could carry almost anything on their heads.

Not just baskets of vegetables.
Not just bundles of firewood.
Not just water jars.
Almost anything.

And the truly remarkable part? They did it without using their hands.

If you visited the village, you would see grandmothers carrying baskets of sweet potatoes on their heads while knitting. Farmers balancing sacks of rice while chatting with neighbors.

Children carrying bundles of grass while chasing each other down the road.

It was as if gravity had signed a special agreement with that village.

Among these gifted villagers was a woman named Lan.

One morning, Lan carefully placed a bamboo bucket filled with fresh eggs on her head and began walking toward the market.

Now, these weren't just any eggs.

These were her investment portfolio.
Her retirement plans.
Her venture capital fund.
Her entire economic future balanced on top of her head.

As she walked along the dusty village road, she began thinking.

And that was where the trouble started.

Because sometimes our feet are walking on the road, but our minds are already vacationing somewhere else.

Lan thought, "If I sell all these eggs today, I'll make a nice profit."

A reasonable thought.

Then her imagination shifted into second gear.
"With that money, I can buy a few more hens."

Still reasonable.

"More hens will lay more eggs."

Correct.

More eggs means more money.

Excellent math.

Then her imagination grabbed a turbocharger.

"Then I can buy many more hens."
"Then I'll have a large chicken farm."
"Then I'll be the biggest egg producer in the district."
"Then I can buy cows."
"Lots of cows."
"I'll sell milk."
"I'll buy more land."
"I'll hire workers."
"I'll become rich."

Now she wasn't walking to the market anymore.

She was walking to Forbes magazine.

A few minutes later, Lan was no longer an egg seller.

In her mind she was the CEO of "Lan Global Agricultural Holdings International Corporation."

She could practically see the company logo.
She imagined people pointing at her and saying:

"Look! There goes Lan, the Chicken Queen!"
"She's so wealthy!"
"She owns more hens than there are villagers!"

Lan smiled.
Then she smiled wider.
Then she grinned.

Then she imagined all the people who had once ignored her suddenly wanting to be her friends.

She imagined arriving at village festivals riding in an ox cart decorated like a royal carriage.
She imagined giving financial advice.
She imagined publishing books.
"From Eggs to Empire: The Lan Success Story."

By now, she was not merely successful.

She was legendary.
As her imaginary fortune continued to grow, excitement bubbled inside her.
She could already feel the happiness.

And then...

She decided to celebrate.

She celebrated.

WITH A JUMP.

A joyful, enthusiastic, completely unnecessary jump.

The moment her feet left the ground, the laws of physics—which had been extremely cooperative up to this point—decided they had tolerated enough nonsense.

The bamboo bucket tilted.
The eggs shifted.
The balance disappeared.

And suddenly...

CRASH!
SPLAT!
CRACK!

The road became the world's largest omelet.

Lan stood frozen.

One minute she was a billionaire in her imagination.

The next minute she couldn't afford breakfast.

The villagers gathered around.

One elderly man looked at the broken eggs and asked gently,
"What happened?"

Lan sighed.
"I got excited about my future."

The old man nodded.
"Very understandable."

Then he looked at the smashed eggs.
"Next time, perhaps wait until after the profits arrive."

That advice would have saved many people throughout history.

The funny thing is that most of us laugh at Lan because we recognize ourselves.

We may not carry eggs on our heads, but we carry dreams in our minds.
We start a business and immediately picture ourselves ringing the opening bell on Wall Street.
We go to the gym twice and start shopping for smaller clothing.

We haven't even reached chapter one, but we're already planning the movie adaptation.

The Bible speaks directly to this tendency.
Proverbs 16:9 says:
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."

Planning is not wrong.
Dreaming is not wrong.
Working toward a better future is not wrong.

But confusing today's eggs with tomorrow's empire can be dangerous.

Another powerful reminder comes from James 4:13-14:
"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow."

James is not condemning planning.

He is warning against arrogance.

Life has a way of reminding us that tomorrow is not guaranteed and outcomes are not fully under our control.

Lan's mistake wasn't that she dreamed big.

Her mistake was celebrating results that didn't yet exist.

And if we're honest, social media has turned many of us into professional egg-droppers.

Someone starts a side hustle on Monday.

By Wednesday they're designing a logo.
By Friday they're giving entrepreneurial advice online.
By Sunday they're selling a course on how to become successful.

All before earning enough money to buy lunch.

Modern life encourages us to live in the future.

God calls us to be faithful in the present.

Sell today's eggs.
Then buy tomorrow's hens.
Then raise the hens.
Then collect the eggs.
Then repeat.
It is slower.
Less glamorous.
And far less likely to end in scrambled disaster.

So, the next time you catch yourself mentally spending money you haven't earned, celebrating victories you haven't achieved, or planning what color your private jet should be before paying this month's bills, remember Lan and her bamboo bucket.

Keep your feet on the ground until the eggs are safely sold.

Otherwise, you may discover the same painful truth Lan learned that day

A jump for joy before you've actually made it.