Recently, I have been dealing with many large changes in my life. For much of my life, I have dealt with things on my own. I have been living without family and independently for quite some time. With the recent changes I spoke with someone who told me about an important parable that helped me make some big decisions.
While the following parable is not a true story, it is metaphorical and can be applied to every aspect of your life. I now keep it close to my heart. I wanted to share it with others so that, hopefully, if you are going through something difficult yourself, it will add strength, wisdom, and hope to your lives as well.
Parable:
In the middle of the vast blue ocean, Jonah was terrified. He was stranded, flailing in the water. The end seemed near, but he closed his eyes and prayed that God would come to save him.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of an engine purring above. His eyes flew open and just above him a helicopter appeared. There were men on board who waved, dropped a rope ladder to him, and signaled to him to grab it.
Jonah smiled and said, “Its okay, God will save me. Go ahead.”
The men on board shook their heads and yelled again for him to grab the ladder. They would pull him up and rescue him. But once again Jonah proclaimed that it was okay and that God would save him. After much back and forth of the same scenario, the helicopter had to fly away. Their fuel had run low and if they did not leave they would surely sink themselves.
A little while later as the man continued to pray to God a large ship appeared. The crew onboard acted quickly when they spotted Jonah and threw him a life preserver. It sailed through the air and landed perfectly within reach. The crew encouraged him to grab hold and everything would be just fine.
With a satisfied grin, Jonah smiled again and spoke, “I'm fine. Don't worry about me. God will save me.” Once again, words were exchanged back and forth. And, after awhile storms began brewing in the ocean. The crew knew they would have to leave to save themselves. They tried to call to Jonah one last time and finally had to set sail for safer waters.
The storm waters grew harsher, more precarious. Jonah began swallowing mouthfuls of water and gasping for air.
“Why God, why?” He exclaimed. “Why have you forsaken me?” And, when his tired body could no longer withstand the force of the waves, slowly he slipped under to never rise again.
The moral of this parable is that when you pray for something you want, whether you believe in God, the spiritual world or the power of the mind, when you get what you want it might not always show up in the shape you think it will. It might be exactly what you thought you needed, but you must recognize that life works in mysterious ways. You must keep your mind open to this possibility. And then, ultimately, it is up to you to “grab hold of the ladder” or the “life preserver”. People can offer you something in life, but you must take it in order to continue to grow and thrive and save yourself.
