Dear friends,
In this weekend’s gospel, the apostles asked of Jesus a very important request: “Increase our faith.” How many times have we asked the same petition to the Lord: increase our faith? I know that there are trying times in which it seems that our problems and challenges are overflowing and our prayer is: Lord, increase our faith. You and I are invited to be sincere with the Lord. We can always use some more faith, every day.
I would like to share with you the following story I came across the other day: The story says that it was a hot day, and the sands were glittering like gold in a desert. Andrew, touring the place, lost his way in the desert. He could not find his way back, and the water in his bottle dried up. He was in desperate search of water. Otherwise, he would die due to dehydration. As he struggled walking in the desert, he saw a small hut at a distance. Initially, he thought it was just an illusion. But he continued walking towards it, and as he reached closer, he realized it was a hut.
He opened the door and found no one there. It seemed like the place had been abandoned for a long time. He was surprised to see a hand water pump, and it had all connections intact and a pipeline to the ground. Then he started pumping, and there was no sign of water. And he continued his effort and gave up due to exhaustion. He started searching the hut for any other source of water. Then he found a bottle of water hidden in the corner. He was happy, and when he was about to drink the water, he found a piece of paper attached and written on the paper was, “Please use this water to start the pump. It works. After you have finished, do not forget to refill the bottle again.”
After reading the message on the paper, he went into a dilemma, “Will the pump work if I use this water? Is the pump in good condition? Can I trust the words on the paper? If it is false, then my last source of water will be wasted.” He paused for a minute and closed his eyes, and prayed. Then he poured the water from the bottle into the pump and pumped it. Soon, he heard a bubbling sound, and water started pouring out. There was a moment of relief on his face. He drank the water and filled his bottle. Then he was refreshed and refilled the bottle from the hut. He stayed in the hut for some time and looked around. Then he saw a pencil and a map explaining the direction to the nearby village from the hut location.
He was happy that his faith in the water pump worked. Similarly, he believed that the map would direct him in the right direction. Then he wrote on the paper, “Have faith. It works.” He put both the bottle and paper in the exact place from where he originally found them. Happily, he left the hut.
Moral of the story: In our life, there will be times when we need faith. The moment we start believing, things will fall into place. Once we have faith, regardless of the outcome, we should continue our efforts towards it. It will pay more than we wanted. God will provide!
