Parable of the Hole

There was a man who had a hole. Not quite like a well, not a cave. But a big empty space that sat beside him. 

He spent his days pouring into this hole; his life, his affections, his energy, his finances, his desires, his life. 

Yet, no matter how much he poured into the hole, it would not be filled. It continued to seem as deep and as dark as it was at the beginning. 

He would spend his days working and toiling - striving to fill the hole with accomplishments and success.

At night he would throw his debauchery and desires into that same hole, always expecting it to rise to the top. Awakening each morning, he would find the whole empty and as cold and desolate as the day before.

He found love and threw it into the hole as well. With all the true intentions of someone who thought he found the answer. He poured his heart and his soul into the hole. He stood peering beside the hole with the person he thought would fill it and waited. 

The hole remained.

At one point, feeling broken and betrayed, he threw himself into the hole. Surely this sacrifice would fill the void. Lost in the darkness, he thought he would succumb and the hole would disappear with him.

It did not. 

And he did not. 

Lonely, tired and weary, he prayed.

How do I fill this hole?

A voice said, “you fill it with love. And you fill it with me.”

Soon after the man found others who had also sat beside a hole. He opened up his heart and instead of trying to fill the hole, he started to fill others. He gave and he tried to listen, he learned and he started to walk. Instead of focusing on the gaping hole beside him he focused on the world around him and others along the path.

Slowly, not noticing it from this new direction, his whole began to fill.

Not with self-seeking or anything he had done, but in finding hope.

Together now with others along the path, seeding love and patience where there had been loneliness and loss, his emptiness is filled.

~ Peace

The Burtle

Parable of the Moon

She stands and faces the Tempest, rising like a city from the depths of the sea. Wanting to hold back the waters, she plants her feet firmly in the sand. How firmly can that truly be though? It’s sand.

And she waits. 

The waters have always ebbed and flowed, but this storm rises above anything she’s ever known, anything she’s ever faced.

And she feels all alone. 

There’s always been a part of her that’s felt alone. Facing the sea, facing each storm. Facing life. 

Until she looks back over her shoulder, looking up and catches a glimpse of the moon.

She realizes…

The moon has sway over the waters, it directs the waves and it swallows up the depths with light reflected from the sun. 

It’s constant in its orbit, showing up whether behind a tapestry of clouds or full as the harvest moon that shown a few nights ago. 

The realization that she is standing there not alone, but watched over by the spirit that resonates the light is like a lightning bolt to her soul.

Yes, she will face the Tempest. But she doesn’t face it as a lone soul deafened by its wake. She faces it as one of many. One among others who have seen the moon. Who know its power and it’s source.

The storms will come. The waters will rise.

But she is not alone. 

She is standing, Under the moonlight. 

~ Peace

The Burtle

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭107‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.””

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Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭23‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬