posted on May 13, 2001 08:16:42 PM new
I've been reading all of the heartbreaking threads going right now-the illnesses, and depression over mother's day. I thought I'd pass along a little lesson I 'relearned' this weekend.
We took our son and daughter in law to the beach for the weekend. While they were sleeping in, Larry and I went to watch the sun come up on the beach outside our condo. It was beautiful of course, the kind of sight that reaffirms your belief in God. But the best lesson came from watching a little crab.
He wasn't any bigger than my little fingernail, and we spotted him crawling across the sand when the tide receded. He'd bustle across the sand as fast as he could. When he heard the waves behind him, he'd bury himself in the sand, up to his eyes. And every time, the water would wash him further back out toward the ocean. But as soon as it receded, he'd take off again, fast as his tiny legs could go. And eventually, he made it to dry land!
We should learn something from that little crab. He didn't realize what a huge ocean he was battling, so he just kept going, and eventually, he prevailed...we may know how slim the odds are, but if we just keep going the way God taught us to, eventually we will succeed in the way he intended.
It may not always be the victory we want, but if we have faith and keep doing what God, (or God given instinct, in the crab's case) tells us to do, we will win the race.
Obviously, the margaritas have gotten to me, and I'm getting maudlin, but I'm trying to send my best to each of you who is running that seemingly impossible race.
That story reminded me of a quote by Helen
Keller...
I fall, I stand still... I trudge on, I gain a little... I get more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every struggle is a victory.
So true! Your insight reminds me of the "footprints on the sand" picture story. Starts off with 2 sets and ends with only one. Since God stands outside of time (unlike us), He's master of the outcome. He carries us along when we lose strength. All we can do is trust Him and.....HOLD ON! THANKS!
