I’ve read the Old Testament book of ‘Jonah’ in children-story form and from the Bible since I was a kid…I never tire from the complex simplicity of this story!!

At times, I am  given an unpleasant or difficult/inconvenient task to do and I just don’t want to do it. So, I go the opposite direction thinking that if I and the task are  ‘out of sight, out of mind’ then perhaps I do not need to do what it is I KNOW I SHOULD BE DOING.

Suddenly, a life crisis occurs that shifts our focus and priorities causing the task to suddenly seem probable and its reason makes more sense…my thinking changes to “might as well do the right thing and what is asked of me”.

But, the outcome of my efforts is not always what I expected especially while in my passion to complete the task. This realization causes me to become disappointed, embittered, or even judgmental…I easily think of how the “story should have ended if I were in charge”.  

My response quickly can be to withdraw from the after-effects (or the people) because of my false interpretation of how life should look or how this should have worked out. …the effort I put into said activity should have “this” outcome and not “that”.

In my solitude and reflection on the so-called unfairness of life, I am met with God’s grace,compassion, and mercy. If I choose to receive such a gift from Him then I am  filled with the knowing that the “task” and its outcome was never to fulfill my own agenda, but for a much bigger purpose than what I can see…a purpose that dominoes into many other arenas of life for myself and others revealing that this world does not revolve around me…

 

Great “story”!