A family was spending the day at a beach. The day was beautiful, but the sea was rough. The parents warned their child of the dangers of the surf. They wanted to protect the child from the dangers that lurked under the surface of the waves. For a while, the child obediently played in the sand, but then started to question the wisdom of his parents. He wondered, “How could anything that looked so fun be so dangerous?” Slowly, the child eased toward the water and when the parents looked away, put his toes in the water. Surely, this couldn’t be what his parents had warned him against. The water felt so good on his feet. His parents called him back to them, but he just smiled and waved and said that it was ok. He knew what he was doing.
As the tide came in, the child drifted farther away, out of the protective grasp of his parents. Still he smiled and waved. “It’s not too deep, and I’m having fun.”
Helplessly, the parents watched and the riptide pulled him closer and closer to the jagged rocks. There was no way to convince the child of the dangers that were so close. As the wave began to beat the child against the rocks, he cried out for help, but there was nothing that the parents could do. They reached out, but the point where they could make a difference was long past. The pain that they felt watching their child fight to survive was unbearable. Each time that it seemed he had conquered the waves, the water drew him back in and he surrendered to the sea. The rescue attempts were ignored. To return back to the safety of the beach would be hard, painful, and would leave many scars.
God, our Father, watches as we surrender to the waves, He has done so much to help us avoid the rocks, but we ignore His direction and correction. The return to His will does not come without pain and scars. We must listen to what He tells us while we are still on the beach.
Helplessly, the parents watched and the riptide pulled him closer and closer to the jagged rocks. There was no way to convince the child of the dangers that were so close. As the wave began to beat the child against the rocks, he cried out for help, but there was nothing that the parents could do. They reached out, but the point where they could make a difference was long past. The pain that they felt watching their child fight to survive was unbearable. Each time that it seemed he had conquered the waves, the water drew him back in and he surrendered to the sea. The rescue attempts were ignored. To return back to the safety of the beach would be hard, painful, and would leave many scars.
God, our Father, watches as we surrender to the waves, He has done so much to help us avoid the rocks, but we ignore His direction and correction. The return to His will does not come without pain and scars. We must listen to what He tells us while we are still on the beach.
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