Dear Readers,
A story from Tunisia: A river flowed through the countryside and reached the sandy desert. It realised that his water dried up as soon as it ran into the sand. However, it was convinced that its destiny was to cross the desert. Then it heard a voice saying: ‘Wind can cross the desert and so can a river.’ The river said that it would only dry up while wind could fly. The voice said: "If you move in the usual way, it will be impossible for you to cross the desert. You will either disappear or become a quagmire. You must allow the wind to carry you to your destination." The river replied: "But how can I achieve that?" The voice responded: "By letting it take you.’” This idea was unthinkable for the river. After all, it had never been picked up by the wind before. Under no circumstances did it want to lose its individual character. The sand said, "The wind will accomplish this task - it will pick up the water, carry it across the desert, and then it will let it fall down again. It will fall down as rain and its water will become a river again." The river was still skeptical: "How can I know if this is really true?”
"That's the way it is and if you don't believe it, you can only become a quagmire”, replied the sand. And the river let its mist rise into the wind, which carried it upwards, and as soon as they reached the mountain top after many miles, the wind let it fall down as rain again. So much for the story from Tunisia.
Conclusion in a faith-related context:
- We are reluctant to give up what we’re used to.
- We don’t want to lose our individuality.
- We don’t believe or trust easily when we encounter something unfamiliar.
God wants to change us. To do that, we have to let go of what we're used to – even if it's habits or traits we've had for years. God is someone we can believe in and trust, even if we don't know the outcome. Wishing you much success on your journey!
Kind regards,
Wolfram Laube