Once upon a time, there lived a pious woman in a small village near a very large dam. Miss Judy, a retired middle-school teacher, was stubborn and opinionated, but since she was also wise, kind, and generous she was beloved and respected by her community.
This particular spring had brought a lot of rain and the snowmelt from the mountains had pushed the dam to overflowing. Community leaders went to each household and told the villagers to prepare for the worst. When they got to Miss Judy’s house she scoffed and said, “I have faith that the dam will still hold, and I am not at all concerned but thank you for stopping by.”
The next day, the dam started to crack, and the streets started to flood. By the afternoon, most of the residents had left but Miss Judy was still in her home, now stuck on the second floor. A rescue team came by boat to take her to safety, but she refused saying, “My faith will preserve me; it always has worked in the past but thank you for stopping by.”
Overnight the water from the dam had filled the town and now Miss Judy was on her roof. At dawn, a helicopter spotted her and dropped a crew member with a harness to lift her out of danger. Through the noise of the blades whirring overhead she hollered. “It is a new day and I am sure my faith will protect me from the rising water, but thank you for stopping by,”
Then the dam completely failed. The entire town and Miss Judy were submerged. When she got to heaven, she was a little miffed. She scowled when St. Peter welcomed her at the pearly gates. “Why am I here?” she demanded.
“Because you were a kind and generous person,” the befuddled St. Peter replied. “No! I mean why was I not saved from the water? I have a very strong faith.”
St. Peter sighed, “Yes, and because of your faith you were provided with a warning that the dam was weakened so you could take precautions, you had a boat crew offer to take you to safety when the water was almost up to your second floor, and a helicopter to lift you out of danger from your roof. But you chose to ignore the precious gifts presented to you.”
Miss Judy was quite embarrassed and asked if there was any way she could put her stubborn streak to good use. There was! Now she is responsible for making posters in every language of the world that encourage frequent hand washing, social distancing, and face masks. And she’ll stay at it until we find relief from the virus.
By Contributing Author: Jane Maulucci, The Reactive Voice, LLC