Nineveh Bound

Jonah 2:10 -- "Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land."

image: Adey Bryant/cartoonstock.com

Holding his breath so tightly that his lungs felt as if they would burst, Jonah sank into the depths of the boiling sea until he became entangled in large green weeds.  Suddenly anchored by kelp, he opened his eyes to see jagged rocks jutting up from the sandy sea floor. So deep under the breakers above him was he - that he hung there, face to face with the very root of mountains.

Ears throbbing from the pressure of the water around him, his desperate thoughts were of His Lord.

What prayers must have raced through his mind as hung there, suspended in slimy green leaves? Jonah knew he'd disobeyed, he knew he had no right to call out to God. In the throes of panic, however, he turned his eyes toward his Creator and pleaded for help.

To Jonah - at that moment - the great fish that swallowed him whole was respite. Once past the creature's gullet, he drew in air feverishly. The sour and the damp, the putrid smell of death that passed through his nostrils was of no consequence. The only thing that mattered was supplying his abused lungs with oxygen.

And then he sat. And he sat. And he sat.

Well, at least he wasn't in Nineveh. Anything was better than having to go to that dreaded place. The city about which God Himself said "was filled with people that didn't know their left from their right." [Jonah 4:11] AND - at least Jonah didn't have to let go of his anger. No, he had all the time in the world to let it fester and rot inside him - just like the decaying, partially digested parts of things that surrounded him in his safe haven. ...Until, that is - Jonah cried out to God. From the dank and churning stomach of a great fish, Jonah vowed to make good on God's commands.

He did NOT, however - vow to let go of his anger. Nope - he still clung to that. But that was o.k. wasn't it? I mean, Jonah wasn't going anywhere. He was stuck in the pits of the deep sea. It makes me wonder - did Jonah vow to make good on God's commands because he thought he'd never have to put his feet where his mouth was - so to speak? On that third day inside the belly of the beast, Jonah didn't KNOW he was about to be puked up onto sandy shores. He didn't KNOW that he would ever see the sun shining again, or feel the warm earth under his feet.

Though, he probably had a good idea he was about to be evicted from his new home of such great peace and quiet when the walls started to shudder and contract in an effort to push Jonah out.

And THAT's the thing. The fish did in fact puke Jonah out just like a person with food poisoning.

But ... was Jonah angry about that, too? Now he would HAVE to go to Nineveh. He did tell God that he would make good on His commands did he not?

So really, that big 'ole fish gave Jonah a giant stinky push back in the right direction. The J man could no longer hang out as far away from human life as one could possibly get. He could no longer hide out and revel in his quiet, albeit odorous, comfortable surroundings.

And they were comfortable for him, weren't they? He didn't have to DO anything. He didn't have to be polite to people, he didn't have to watch Ninevites actually heed his warnings and repent. He could just - stew in his own anger and self pity.

At least - deep down among the other bits of fish food Jonah couldn't go to Nineveh. ...right?

But ya know what - hiding out and holding on to his own comfort/anger isn't what God wanted from Jonah. And it's not what He wants from us, either.

Nope.

It's painfully difficult sometimes to stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zone. Muscles burn and our hearts ache from the using of them in a different way than that with which we are comfortable. Sometimes, we want to stew in our own anger, resentment, and pain. But - our time in the belly of a great fish must come to an end.

You and I, my friend - are indeed, Nineveh bound.

We aren't alone, though. We have the Holy Spirit and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to get us through the tight spots and to encourage us through our growing pains.

Amen! And thank you, Lord for THAT!

A Thankful Heart

Luke 17:15-16 -- "Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His [Jesus'] feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan."

image: Betty Wind/Arch Books

Even though it was October, heat rose up from the black top on the parking lot in visible blurry waves, filling my nostrils with that familiar aroma of hot tar. My arm itched where I bumped into the hedges trimming the tiny parking space we finally found among the ocean of other vehicles just outside the Chamblin Bookmine.

But the hassle and heat was ALWAYS worth it. Just picture it - rows and rows of books -  in a labyrinth of shelves so crammed together that one might find themselves a little claustrophobic. But the miles of glorious printed pages and the smell of old leather made up for the tight space.

Yes, I'm a bibliophile. I "blame" my mother [a fellow lover of books].

It all started with story time on a comfy sofa - far, far away from the Bookmine in Jacksonville -  and many years ago. My sister and I would snuggle on either side of Mom as she licked her fingers to turn the pages of a cherished Arch Book. Deep within the colorfully illustrated story - among the lepers of Luke 17 - I learned to remember to SAY thank you.

Walking the dusty roads with Jesus, Dr. Luke witnessed ten lepers approach in the hope that they would be healed of their horrible affliction. When Jesus healed them, the ten ran home to their families bubbling over with joy. But ONE of them, turned back and remembered to tell Jesus thank you.

image: Betty Wind/Arch Books 

That's it. Just ONE. ...AND he was a Samaritan, to boot! The one person out of the group of ten lepers that was mostly likely to avoid a Hebrew - turned back from his journey home to thank the Savior that healed him.

I'm sure the others were grateful. They must have been because they were overjoyed at the thought of finally being reunited with the people they loved. But none of them REMEMBERED to actually say thank you. Caught up in their new found freedom, they all just ... scattered, like busy ants, and hurried on home.

Have you noticed that Halloween decorations, candy, and costumes are barely put away in the Stuff Marts of our country before the Christmas merchandise is put out on the shelves? It's crazy. Sure, there is a tiny little assortment of "Fall" themed things that dot the Halloween assortment of chachkis, but really, Thanksgiving seems to be slightly overlooked - squished in between the Monsters and the Nativity.

I LOVE Thanksgiving! True, I love the change in weather, the colors, the recipes and that wonderfully nostalgic Thanksgiving Day Parade - but mostly I love that we collectively take a moment to remember to actually SAY thank you.

There are so many, many reasons why we should.

Today, Lord - as we begin the thankful month - I thank you so much for being The True Healer.