Lamps, Lifeboats, Ladders

Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder.  

Help someone’s soul heal.  

Walk out of your house like a shepherd.

RUMI

It is strange the little things, sayings or quotes that give a reminder of another experience or story. Today when I opened my grateful word of the day and read it my mind went to an entirely different story. It was a story that I had once used in a sermon illustration.

A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately.
A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”
The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.”
As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.”
The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”
The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.
A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!”
Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned.
When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”
And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”

The author of this piece is unknown. The story makes an incredible point. We so often look about for answers, solutions thinking it will be the big expression. The small events that seem insignificant can sometimes pack a bigger punch. And yet too often we ignore all of the little signs around us. We want the big miraculous event and all the while what we need has been constantly available.

More than this is also the quote from Rumi. We just might be the ladder, the lamp or the lifeboat that someone else needs. We might be the one that brings a connection, light and hope to another who is lost and searching. But in order for us to know how to respond, we first need to go out our doors, be present and less self absorbed and truly see what is required of us. God sends all that we and others need; ladders, lamps, lifeboats the key is to recognize that it comes in various forms, interesting ways and different people.