Looking for data…
Lynn, my step-sister who lives in Israel, left a comment that made me think a bit. Lynn expressed her surprise at the different facets of my ‘Merle-ness’ of which she was previously unaware. As I try to do as often as possible, I responded to her via Email, but as I was writing the response, I thought of a topic about which to blog.
In my Email, I said to Lynn that when I ponder the existence of a higher power, the analytical side of me asks: “Where’s the evidence? Show me the data!” Further, I said to Lynn (as I have to other people) that such a response is in direct opposition to the concept of faith. But as I wrote the Email, I remembered one of my favorite stories (which goes in the face of my analytical side) and I would like to share it with you:
A minister was living in a St. Louis suburb that had recently been inundated with a lot of rain. In fact, his town was flooded. At first, the water was only to his waist and a person came by in a boat. The person called out to the minister, “Preacher! Jump into the boat and I will take you to safety!” The minister smiled and shook his head saying, “Thank you my son, but I have faith in the Lord. He will save me. Go help someone else.” Not wanting to argue with the minister, the man moves on.
And the water rises…
The water rose so much that the minister had to climb on top of his house to avoid it. Another man comes by in another boat and says, “Preacher, climb into the boat and I will carry you to safety.” The minister again shook his head and says, “I have faith in the Lord. My God will save me! You go help others!” The man shook his head, but relented to the minister’s request.
And the water rises…
Eventually the minister has to stand on his tippy toes in order to continue breathing and a helicopter with a ladder dangling from it comes to his rescue. Over the PA system, the pilot called to the minister, “Grab onto the ladder and I will fly you to safety!” The minister shouted back, “My God will save me. Help those who are in greater need!” As he was running low on fuel, the pilot decided not to argue with the minister and goes onto the next house.
And the water rises…and the minister drowns.
The minister gets to Heaven and goes before God and says, “Holy Father! I have been your faithful servant for more than 20 years. Why, in my time of need, did you not help me?”
God looked at the minister and said, “I sent 2 boats and a helicopter! What more did you want??”
I love that story. It still makes me chuckle even after telling it so many times. It also helps me to remember that, for me, the divine is not necessarily some entity sitting in judgment and/or taking a personal interest in me and my life. Instead, the divine is all around me — I just have to stop and look at it. I truly believe we can find the divine in nature; in the beauty of clear, sunny day; in the love of a child or a friend or a sibling or a spouse. Today, I “worshipped” the divine as I worked in my back yard with my brother, Sid, and my very good friend, Luis. I basked in the divine as we all, Luis’s family and my own, sat around a dinner table and enjoyed each others company. I saw the divine in my daughter’s eyes when she saw the swing set my brother and I completed today (and when I said that she could have a brownie for dessert)! Sometimes, even us analytical folk need to stop and appreciate the beauty and the divine that we see everyday.
I hope that you had the opportunity to experience the divine today, as well!
Enlightenedly yours,
Merle