Deep Waters Within is about the internal struggle a young man had concerning his faith. He was close to his father but they had differences regarding their beliefs and those differences came to a head.
The
character in the story, Jim Staley, was adamant that he was right and his dad
was wrong. He couldn’t accept it and
moved completely across the county! He
moved from Chatham Massachusetts. To Half Moon Bay California.
Sound
familiar? This is sort of a modern-day
take on Jonah from the Bible. Jonah did
the same thing and ran into trouble and eventually had to come to terms with
the Lord.
Jim made a
new life for himself in California and kept ignoring his heart and his
conscience tugging at him to call home.
He made new friends and even a love interest, but that didn’t stop his
conscience and the bad dreams that kept erupting from ignoring those tugs.
He should have called home, because while he was away his dad developed cancer. Eventually the dreams took their toll on Jim and his girlfriend and they separated. This made him look at himself and he finally called home, only to discover the news! His dad was dying!
The thing I
want to convey to everyone in this story, is do not be so adamant that you are
right! Don’t be so headstrong and rigid
in your thinking, you just might have the wrong perspective on your
beliefs. Jim wasted so much time because
of the rigidity. How much time do we
waste and how many regrets do we leave ourselves in being so close minded and prideful
that we think we are always right and everyone else is always wrong. Maybe just maybe, sometimes our beliefs and
our perspectives are wrong. When our
perspectives are wrong, so will our actions and what we say.
When
relationships are involved, they are sometimes affected much like the character
in my story. Why do we want to always be
right at the risk of losing out on those most precious to us.
I lost my
sixteen-year-old son and I have many regrets and the “I wish I had done’s.” I
do not want to live that way anymore. Is
being right all the time worth it?
Today with
so many people at odds with their beliefs I feel this book is necessary to help
people think about what is really important.
It isn’t being right, it is, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
(John 13:34)
The Lord did not say to judge and to
be right all the time, He said to love one another and to, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your
own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
I try
to live that way and while I have my beliefs, I care not what other people’s
beliefs are and how they may differ from mine.
I will share if I am asked but God tells me to love and I try to live
that way. I have others in my family
that do not believe the way I do, but I love them with all of my heart.
If
mankind would love one another, and not judge and think about others before themself,
it would be a better place and we would be true, “Ambassadors of Christ,” and
we would not be giving the Lord and the Bible the bad name it has today in the
eyes of many.
It is
not our place to judge and I do not want that job! God tells us to love, to love and not hate,
to forgive and to bless.
What a
difference the world would be if we would humble ourselves and ask, just for a
minute, “Is my perspective wrong?”
Why
lose out on relationships and precious moments at the risk of being right? And even if you are right, you do not have to
“beat someone over the head,” so to speak with your beliefs. Just love them as the Lord tells you to do,
and pray to the Lord. Pray for the Lord
to show you if you are wrong and to show the other person if they are wrong.
We need to open our hearts and our minds and let the Lord’s will be done. “Love one another.”
About Author Sandra Lott
Author Sandra Lott was born and raised in Texas and is the author of Ride the Wind, God's Love and My Father's Eyes: Seeing Yourself through the Eyes of Love and more. She has learned about the love and faithfulness of God through the death of her sixteen year old son and many other hardships. Through His love and comfort she has drawn close to the Father's love and has developed a passion for studying the Bible. That deep devotion to God in turn has given her the desire to help others grow in their understanding of the love of God and to grow spiritually.
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