We all know the story of the man who was trapped in a flood, who refused a ride out of town before the storm, then also refused a canoe, a motorboat and finally a helicopter, saying, “I’ll wait, God will save me”. The story tells us that when the man drowned and met God, he asked, “Why didn’t you save me?”, to which God answered, “I sent you a car, a canoe, a motorboat and even a helicopter. What more were you waiting for?”
The reason I share this story with you today is to ask, what are you waiting for? So many times people will whine and complain about their lot in life, yet have a friend reach out with a solution, only to be pushed away.
Just recently I had an experience with someone who was sick, hungry and flat broke. I offered food and an opportunity for my friend to get out of his situation. He didn’t take it, telling me that “God will save him”.
Sometimes I think that in our waiting for the miracle to show up, we miss the solution that’s in front of us, that if we followed, could lead us to the miracle. By waiting for something extraordinary, we often miss the ordinary that is just waiting to grow into the extraordinary.
But what struck me the most in my personal interaction with my friend, was that he didn’t want help. It wasn’t a pride thing either. He didn’t want a job and told me that he was enjoying his “retirement” on unemployment. In a moment of truth, he confessed that if his problems were solved, what would he do then? Who would he be without this identity, as sad as it was?
For now, he was content to whine to whomever would listen and enjoy his lot in life as a self-proclaimed victim. All he talks about is his abusive past, his current failures that are someone else’s fault, how bad life is….blah, blah, blah. If that story disappeared, he’d have to create a new one- and doing that is scarier to him than staying stuck in sickness and poverty.
It seems that sometimes we can get so sucked into life that we forget that we are magnificent beings destined for greatness. We forget that we have the power to do, be or create anything in our lives. We forget that we are part of the Divine and that we too are infinite and filled with unlimited possibility.
Rather than defining ourselves by our jobs, our families or our circumstances, what would the world look like if each of us stepped into our greatness? What if we put aside our fears and embraced the possibility of a greater life?
I’m not asking you to leap off the bridge into the unknown, but perhaps suggesting that you look at your life and see where your limiting beliefs and definitions of “who” you are, are actually holding you back from the life you were born to live.
We are all magnificent beings, sent here to love each other and, when we forget, to remind each other how magnificent we truly are. We all have unlimited possibility. We don’t have to be stuck in our stories of unhappiness, poverty or fear – unless we choose to be there.
We have the choice to step into our greatness and play bigger in the world. I encourage you to do so, even if you don’t know how. Just making that choice is the first step. Decide, and take a baby step, trusting that another step will show up for you. Just take one baby step today.
When you live life trusting in possibility, your story will change to one of inspiration rather than despair. You will then be the one piloting the lifeboat for others, rather than sitting on your roof in the rain with the floodwaters rising, waiting for God to save you. The choice is yours.
Your article made made me think that instead of paying for people, sometimes we need to be the prayer. Good write and great read.