Courage
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16,13)
Holland is located on the bank of the North Sea and occupies a northwest part of Central European plain. Its considerable part lies below sea-level, but isn't flooded with it due to the whole system of the dams keeping water. Everywhere, where water from the sea could get into the country, Dutches have constructed high and strong dams of which condition each citizen should observe and immediately lift alarm if will notice that water begins to flow somewhere.
One eight-year boy came back in the evening home from the relatives. Going on a dam, he has suddenly heard that water somewhere murmurs. He has run downwards and has noticed that in one place through a dam water has filtered. The boy has thought that the aperture from a water pressure begins to increase, water will rush through it and will fill in a city. Without hesitation, it has torn off one sleeve from the jacket and has closed up it a hole. Water has ceased to exude, but for a short while.
Then the boy has closed up an aperture by hand and has started to call to help. It was already darkened, and nobody came to help him. So the boy stayed all night long; his hand had stiffened, he was cold; felt the big weariness, all body was ill, but he didn't take hand out a from an aperture. At last, already at dawn, the priest going on a dam from the patient, has heard weak groans. He had gone down and had seen the pale child.
«What are you doing here?» – the priest asked. « I keep the sea », – the boy silently said. The priest had given the alarm, people run together, and the dam had been corrected. And the boy had been carried home.
We live in such lowland where a sin, harm and different defects threaten to fill in with the muddy waters all. The Lord calls His ministers that they have open their hearts and don't allow these defects to fill in the world definitively. “Ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence”(Is. 62,6).
P.Shatrov