The Power of the Insignificant

     A young boy tucked his coat a bit tighter around him as he walked home from the one-room school house.  That morning, the sun shone brightly in the cheery blue sky.  But as the day passed, clouds soon hung overhead, and the wind whistled through the holes in the weather-beaten building.  Willy had just finished his last day of school for winter break, and he was eager to get home for supper.  I’ll walk on the dike on my way home, he thought.  Walking on the dike was his favorite route to get home from school.  On one side, there was his cozy, little village, and on the other side there was the rough sea.  

     He smiled as he thought of the firm and powerful wall of protection that the dike offered to his small village.  He could remember asking his father when he was smaller, “Father, I’m afraid the dike will break!  The wind is so strong!  Surely the dike will break with the waves.”  Father would reply reassuringly, “No, sonny, it won’t break.  The dike has been around for twenty years.”  Then Father would smile, “We will be safe.”  

     Now Willy had arrived at the dike, and he stopped.  As he looked at the sea, it seemed a bit more rough than it usually was.  But he pushed the thought from his mind, and watched the beautiful landscape.  Sturdy trees, delicate flowers, safe homes, and cheerful birds gathering berries from the cranberry bushes filled him with a special warmth.  He looked up at the dike.  

     All of a sudden, Willy froze.  A small stream of water trickled through a hole the size of his pinky finger.  The thought pierced him like a spear.  Father always said that when there was a hole in the dike, the water would work at it, and very soon, the whole sea would come through.  I must stand here and put my finger in the hole.  He shuddered at the thought of his little town disappearing into the sea.  Oh, but I’m so hungry!  I didn’t get that much to eat at lunch.  I think I’ll go home, and on the way, I’ll tell someone about the hole in the dike.  The hole is so small, it won’t do that much.  Willy skipped along, and soon forgot about the hole in the dike.  

     Safe in his home, he joined his beloved family for supper.  After Father said grace, he noted that a mighty storm had begun.  “This wind is sure strong tonight, and I don’t believe we have had rain this hard in a long time.  I’m so glad we have the dike to protect us.”  Willy jumped in his chair as his heart hit the floor. “The hole! The hole!  Oh, I should have stayed!”  With frightened eyes he recounted his finding to his family.  Father’s eyes widened.  “When did you see the hole, son?”  “On my way home from school, when I got to the dike.”  “That must have been a full two hours ago!” Father exclaimed.  He jumped from his chair and grabbed his coat.  He urgently spoke to his wife, “Get everyone warm and dressed, and go immediately to the big hill.  Do not wait for me to come back.  I am going to go warn the neighbors.”  

     The little family hurriedly gathered their warmest coats and quickly started for the big hill.  All through the village, dim lanterns moved quickly towards the place of refuge.  Once together, each of the families found a place in the big barn at the top of the hill.  A few inches of water already covered the ground in the village.  The wind shrieked through the few trees and shook the rafters of the barn.  Rain pounded on the roof, and thunder cracked the sky as the day lapsed away.  

     Several hours later, rich colors filled the sky as the sun peeked its head over the horizon.  The sea lapped at the remains of the tattered houses.  The village was ruined.  

     This story models a true story that happened in the Netherlands.  But in that story, the boy sat at the dike all night with his finger in the hole, and refused to leave.  I chose to show in this story what would have happened if he hadn’t stayed and put his finger in the hole.  In this version, the village represents your heart, the sea is the world, the dike is the guard you place over your heart.  I gave the little boy the name, Willy, because he represents our will.  The hole where the water was trickling in represents a thought in the wrong direction or a compromise.  Willy could have stayed and plugged the hole with his finger, but he chose to go home, because he was very hungry.  Because he let the trickle of water continue, his village was ruined.  The same goes for us.  Whenever we have a thought that goes in the wrong direction, or we compromise, if we don’t stop it, it will eventually cause us to fall very far down.  It may seem very insignificant, but one thought leads to another, one compromise leads to another.  There is power in the insignificant.  We have a choice.  Willy had a choice.  He could have put his finger in the dike, and saved his village, but he chose not to, and his village was destroyed.  For us, thankfully, we can have a more hopeful ending.  If we have let ourselves listen to the torrent of thoughts in the other direction, or we have made many compromises, we don’t have to stay there.  We have a God, “The Lord, strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle” (Psalm 24:8).  If we ask Him to help us, He will.  It will be a long road back, but victory is in the works!  

Keep trusting in Jesus!

~Lilienne Stafford