This is a story about a young girl, who wanted nothing else in the world, but a boat. A small boat, just right for her size, that would take her anywhere she dreams. Her father was a carpenter, and everyday, she would ask him to build her a boat.
The father, protective of her, would always say no. She would cry in secret, unable to understand why her father would deny her one, simple desire. But her father heard it - all the sobbing, all the tears. It hurt him to break her heart, but if she only knew. Her father started building the boat three years ago, even before she asked for it. He knew exactly what she wanted, and he prepared well for it.
Slowly, he built the boat, careful with every piece that went into it. She is much too young to sail on her own, he thought. So he took his time. Then one day, when she least expected it, her father showed her the finished boat. It was exactly what she dreamt of.
She cried a river that day, she was so happy. And her father was well pleased. Then, her journey began. She went to places she only used to visit in her dreams. She enjoyed every moment. She kept sailing away. She went too far away. The waves drifted her farther and farther… She wouldn’t have realized she was in trouble when the storm didn’t come. But it did! And it stirred up the seas, it rocked her boat. She panicked. She was afraid. She didn’t know what to do. She cried out to her father. “Father! I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wandered very far. I planned to come home after one destination but the waves set me adrift. Help me father!” She prepared herself for the worst – the boat will surrender to the waves and she will drown. She closed her eyes, waiting for her doom. But it didn’t come.
The boat made it through the storm. Tears fell from her eyes. Now she realized why it took her father so much time to build it. She made it home. And her father ran to welcome her back. “I never thought I’d make it back home. I was so scared. I never want to go anywhere again.” she said. Her father replied, “But the boat, my child, was built to endure even the greatest storm. And don’t say that you never want to go anywhere anymore. Just don’t go anywhere alone.”
Sure, a lot of things rocked my boat. I made mistakes. I sailed on my own.
I wandered far. The storm came, and I was ready to drown.
But then I realized, this boat was made to last.
Then, Jesus calmed the storm.
How could I have forgotten? He was in the boat with me all along.
(Matthew 8:23-27)
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