Joe Missed the Boat!!!

Hey, this is a story that was told to me as a little girl. Its religious and a little humorous and is not meant to offend anyone. *******

There was this very religious man named Joe. Joe would read the bible every night, pray three times a day, and would go to church every Sunday with his best Sunday clothes. One day, before breakfast, and after his early morning prayer, Joe turned on the news. There was an exclusive on today, the weather man was warning of a massive flash flood coming to town and advised everyone to evacuate to a nearby town for shelter as the waters would rise beyond control. Joe shrugged and said, “The Lord is my Savior and he’ll get me through the flood”. Soon it began to rain, and rain, and rain. Joe’s neighbor came to check on him since he knew Joe didn’t have a car. “Joe,” he said, “you must come with me to leave this town, grab what you need, and let’s go… the Flood is coming!” Joe calmly protested “Thanks, but no thanks! The Lord is my Savior, and he’ll get me though the flood. I’m waiting on Jesus!” The friendly neighbor shook his head and left. Soon the rain came down harder, and the police came by to evacuate the neighborhood. Over the loud speaker the officer said “Joe, this is the police. We need you to evacuate the premises as the flood levels are raising in parts of the city. It’s for your own safety!” Joe calmly protested from his porch “Thanks, but no thanks! The Lord is my Savior, and he’ll get me though the flood. I’m waiting on Jesus!” The policeman, in fear of his own life left, but sent the fire department instead. With the water level quickly rising, the firefighters arrived in a boat, and yelled out to Joe’s second story window, “Joe, come on! The flood is getting worse! You must come out now!” Joe shook his head and protested again saying “Thanks, but no thanks! The Lord is my Savior, and he’ll get me though the flood. I’m waiting on Jesus!” The firefighter had no choice but to go. Soon the water level rose and got so bad that Joe had to climb onto his roof. Finally a helicopter from the Red Cross came, and from the chopper the volunteer called out to Joe “Joe, this is serious! You could die! Please, this is your last chance! Grab a hold of the ladder and lets go! The water is too high for you to survive!” Joe, as religious as ever, shook his head sighed and proclaimed “Thanks, but no thanks! The Lord is my Savior, and he’ll get me though the flood. I’m waiting on Jesus and I won’t leave unless he rescues me!” With the rain coming down hard, the helicopter left for the safety of its passengers. Soon the water level rose past the roof, and poor Joe drowned! In heaven, passed the pearly gates, sitting on his throne, Joe saw Jesus and asked him, “Your holiness, I was a very faithful man on earth. I prayed three times a day, went to church every Sunday, and read my bible every single night. Why oh why didn’t you save me? Why did you let me die oh lord?” Jesus as wise as ever simply said “well Joe, I sent you your neighbor, the cop, a boat, a helicopter….”

Its great to have and believe in a faith or religion. If it brings you comfort and happiness, than you found something beautiful and rare and shoud cherish it. However, don't be so caught up that you cant accept help when its right in front of you. Dont be blinded by what you "expect"from it, and embrace the kindness and help of others...