The following story was submitted to a writing contest at http://www.faithwriters.com.
Illustrate the meaning of "Make Hay While the Sun Shines" (without using the actual phrase or literal example).
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TITLE: A New Life
By Pat Boone
03/08/08
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“Follow me,” says the stranger.
No, my family needs me. I cannot possibly follow him. Not now.
What will I eat? Where will I sleep?
I snug the bandage around my patient’s arm; a little boy who had fallen from a sycamore tree along the road to town.
“I will only be here a little while,” the stranger added.
There are so many people to heal, and many studies to be undertaken. How can I possibly step away from my life? What of my responsibilities?
Yet, there is something very compelling about this stranger. Something I have never seen in any individual I’ve met before.
Those eyes are so gentle. The smile is so…friendly. He’s not an attractive man, at least, not physically, but I am strangely drawn to him.
Can he be the Christ, the Son of God? How can someone so meek attain such greatness?
The stranger bends down to speak into my ear. “Like you, I have come to heal,” he whispers. “Learn of God’s love. Heal the spirit of those who seek your healing power.”
I look up from my patient to meet the stranger’s gaze. There is a fire in his eyes that penetrates my very soul.
His caring voice echoes through my mind; I will only be here a little while.
My work. My family. My friends. Death.
Without this man, this…stranger, I have no purpose. No life. I must learn from him while he is here. Yes. I must learn, and pass on what I’ve learned to others.
I look down at my fidgety patient and whisper, “Your arm will heal. Run along, now.”
Turning back to the stranger, I solemnly declare, “I am yours. I will follow you to the ends of the earth.”
The stranger smiles and says, “No.” He firmly grips my hand, pulling me up from my knees, and added, “You will go further.”
New work. New family. New friends.
A new life.
