Life:
Explained
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."
And the moral of this story is: ......... Know where you're going in life... you may already be there.
-----
---
--
Once upon a time, I was asked, "what do you want in life?" This happens to be the exact question that I had tried to avoid for quite a long time. Such a simple question... yet somehow the answer would reveal so much about who I was and what I hope for.
After scanning my thoughts for awhile I came up with an answer that I thought would please this particular person. Since "I don't know" or "I'm not quite sure" was coming out of my mouth every time this question was asked in the past... I figured I'd give it another try. Maybe this time, it would be something deep.. and impressive.. proving that there is more to me than what I want people to see.
From that-- I've learned that you can never really lie about things like this. Sure, you can come up with grand things about what you really want in life. I, for one, would love to learn to live not just for myself. Sounds like such an exciting thing... and God promises us great things when we live for Him fully and completely. But hold on.. isn't that what we're supposed to be doing anyway?
I'd like to think so. So many times I've complained about being "sick of it." I was fed up with my excuses for myself... my laziness and unwillingness to do anything that would challenge me.
We are called to "die to ourselves" and give ourselves to God... and for awhile, I'd like to think that i was. But, Who am I fooling anyway, that my life is fully devoted to God. I may be able to fool the people around me, but I can't fool God. I don't think i've ever been FULLY and COMPLETELY devoted to God. What would that even look like? Jesus' disciples? Jesus himself?
I don't know if even Jesus' disciples were ever fully devoted... some had doubt at one point or another... and I'm sure there was always that fear that perhaps Jesus would lead them to do something not so fun.
There's always a piece of me that is afraid to let go of myself. Yes, I trust God... and yes, i know that He's got better plans for me than I have for myself. But when it comes to ACTION... I hesitate.
Sometimes it's easy to just go for it and take that leap of faith because you have people to support you and encourage you.. and perhaps confirm that "this is what God wants for you."
But what happens when what you think God is telling you... is something that would take you away from home. Home being where you are comfortable... a place that you know. It could include the people around you and surroundings that you're familiar with. What if what God wants you to do... would put you in situations in which you feel uncomfortable?
I think hearing THAT call-- and following that call... takes great courage.
and faith. and honestly, shouldn't it always be like that? at least.. at first...?
so maybe.. i just need more courage and faith right now.
perhaps one day, i can answer that question again and have something to show that I'm heading in that direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment