The Sea of Orphans

My girlfriend Jodi came back from Haiti this weekend. And like many of my friends who are getting their hands dirty in the fields of the fatherless, I know she will never be the same. I know Carolyn, Kellee, Linda, Eileen, Carla, Elaine, Rose, Lisa and all of my sisters and brothers in Christ who have adopted or advocated for the orphan will also never be the same. Today I wrote another parable. I tend to gravitate toward writing that way when I am feeling deep emotions that I can't quite articulate in the real world. I am dedicating this to all of my sisters and brothers in Christ who are forever transformed after experiencing contact with one or more orphans. But while this is dedicated to all of you and I have written it identifying with my own experience with my 4 adopted children. I want to dedicate this to Jodi Tucker who has had an obvious transformation from her experience with HORT (Haiti Orphan Relief Team). I pray for supernatural processing and guidance for her and all of us because there are more drops in this ocean to save...ENJOY MY PARABLE

The Sea of Orphans (by Deanna Jones)

Everything was fine. The only problem was that in spite of the fact that everything was running smoothly in her life, she knew that something or someone was missing. One day she couldn’t resist the call to stand at the shore of a vast ocean. She knew that there were at least 147 million droplets in that sea, crying out to be freed from drowning as the waves of isolation, tragedy, calamities and diseases would violently crash into them. They were merely floating out there without a life jacket or branch to hold onto, hoping to avoid the waves. So, she stood there at the shore. There were other curious onlookers standing there on the shore. They watched as a mother standing on the shore swam out to offer hope and a home to a few droplets. The mother swam back in, exhausted yet transformed in a way that she would never be able to explain. The onlookers could see on her face that while she was pleased to have saved a few small drops, she couldn’t help but remember the ones still out there waiting for a brave swimmer. The sun then would set and most people would go home, forgetting about the millions still fighting to survive. But the woman who had a fine life stood at the shore longing to find a life that was better than ‘fine.’ She suspected taking a dive into that sea would transform her, yet she heard warnings from others. “You have a fine life. Don’t mess with it. Those droplets you bring into your life will ruin you.” She wanted to go deeper but noticed that in the hours she spent watching at the shore, very few of the thousands of onlookers ventured in. She closed her eyes. She heard a voice that sounded like an angel, “Go, save my children!” She knew that diving in would mean she would be the center of attention to those looking. She knew that people would talk about the woman with the fine life who took a dive to change everything. They would whisper “How could she be so crazy to try to ruin everything that is acceptable in her fine life.” Most of the onlookers believed that ‘acceptable’ was the best way to live their lives. The woman with the fine life didn’t think it was acceptable to just stand by and watch as the 147 million innocent droplets were destroyed by the pending waves. So, she dove in. Something heavy washed over her. It was a powerful wave of fear and doubt but as she swam over those waves she eventually swam like an expert surfer or life guard. She grew stronger with each stroke, persevering through the pressure of the pending waves. She passed by many droplets drenched in tears but kept swimming to move into the place that called out to her. Then when she arrived to that calm place drops of rain fell into the ocean and poured over her already drenched body. She floated. She allowed the cool healing rain to pour onto her. Then she took a breath and took a dive into a deep deep place. She met with an Angel of the Lord who handed her 4 precious droplets safely encased inside a beautiful treasure box from the sea. The Angel reached out his hand and said, “God is pleased! Now swim back and take care of these 4 precious droplets.” The Angel of the Lord then told the woman to swim back fast as there were more pending disastrous waves coming to engulf the 146 million, 999 thousand, 996 droplets that were still there in that ocean. The woman with the fine life pleaded with the Angel saying, “But let me take more! Please let me save them all.” The Angel said to her, “Take your 4 and love them. God will take care of the rest!” The woman with the fine life swam back to shore memorizing the way that each of the droplets that were left behind looked as she passed them. She came out of the ocean with her treasures, happy to have them but eternally ruined!!! Her ‘fine life’ was ruined. But now her new life was better than she could ever have imagined…She took care of the little droplets. She watched as they turned into children and then adults with great lives who longed to swim in that sea and carry back droplets just like their mother did. Nothing was the same in their mother’s life after she took that swim and saved those 4 drops. She now lived a life that was no longer ‘fine’. That life was ruined. But as the old life was destroyed a new life was created with more depth, more meaning, more significance than she could even imagine. She now lived a great life and never ever regretted taking a dive into that ocean. She still runs into some of those people that stand on the shore and stare into the waves wondering and waiting to watch as another woman with a fine life decides to take a swim. But they are rarely seen swimming even though every year more droplets fall into that ocean.

copyright 2010 DJO PUBLISHING. If you would like to reprint this parable please include following credit. Copyright 2010 DJO Publishing. Parable by Deanna Jones author of #1 Amazon best selling adoption book TO BE A MOTHER...For permissions please inquire at http://www.mothertheworld.org Reprint by permission only...