Dig Those Wells Deep

Here's another one of those stories that make you think. I read this one recently.

'There was once a man who had a farm in the middle of the desert. He got tired of travelling a long distance to fetch water every day and asked God to please supply him a water course closer to home. When God heard his request, he sent an angel to the man, who said, "God would like you to dig a well. If you do, you'll have all the water you'll ever need." Then the angel left and the man got digging.

'Fifty years later the man met the angel again when he got to heaven. The man cried out, "God deceived me! I dug 100 wells all 50 feet deep and never tapped into any water! I just wasted my time.' With that, the angel replied, "If you'd dug just one well 100 feet deep instead of 100 wells 50 feet deep, you would've found all the water you ever needed."

It's one of the best little fables about persistance I've come across. Speaking for myself, I've dug my share of 50 feet deep wells over the years and abandoned them. I'd always get to a stage when, like this man, I'd think, "I'm not tapping into anything here. Time to give up." I've known a few families who have done the same thing in regard to homeschooling. They begin with excited expectations then find the going too hard and send their kids back to school, although it saddens them to do so.

As stories speak louder than other words, I'll keep digging through the dry, hard and rocky patches of those wells that are most important to me. I'm thinking particularly of the wells of homeschooling, writing and prayer. Rocky, hard or dry patches are not necessarily a sign that there is no water down there.

I won't be blogging for the next week because we're off on a short break to the Yorke Peninsula! For anyone who knows the map of South Australia, it's that bit that most resembles Italy, ie. the boot-shaped bit at the bottom. We'll be staying at a place called Point Turton, on the coast. The weather has been milder and we're looking forward to a relaxing time.