Snails

You may wonder- snails? What do snails have to do with spiritual things? I would like to tell you a story from Korea.
There was a girl and a boy in high school. She was not a very good student, barely passing. He was a genius, an athlete, tall, handsome, and respected by his fellow students and teachers.  He was very aloof though, even cold and detached in personality.  They both had lovely, sweet parents. The two families were close, and his parents loved the girl, and thought of her as a daughter. She was particularly treasured by the boy's mother. The boy's future was bright and unlimited. He could go to any university he chose, even the Ivy League, and his parents asked him frequently if he had decided yet which college to attend.  The girl's future plans did not include college because of her poor academics. She loved him from first sight. He ignored her. She would peek through the classroom door window to get a look at him in his advanced classes. She joined the tennis team, because he had joined, although she had never played tennis. She didn't play tennis very well, and the tennis team joked about it. He continued to ignore her, although he was aware that she followed him. One day, she worked up her courage and handed him a folded love note in the hall. He took the note and said nothing, just walked away. A few days later, he stepped in front of her and handed her note back to her, and walked away. When she opened the note, he had corrected all of her spelling and grammar mistakes in red ink. Her friends were outraged that he had been so callous about her declaration of love. She just folded the note up and put it away as a keepsake. Her father was concerned about her love for this cold, yet gifted boy. He was afraid she would end up broken-hearted.
One day she asked the boy what type of girl he preferred. He told her that he could never like a dumb girl who wasn't even going to college. She thought about what he had said (as he knew she would), and she asked her teacher if there was any way a student like her could get into college. Her teacher said maybe she could get into a small third rate college, but the entrance exam was the next week. She could never study enough to pass that test in this short amount of time. This girl crammed and studied. She passed the test, barely, and the third rate college reluctantly sent her an acceptance letter.
Some time after the two families had gotten together to celebrate the girl's unexpected college acceptance, the young man came to the parents, who were visiting together, to tell them that he had chosen the college he would attend. His parents waited eagerly to hear. He told them that he had chosen the same third rate college that had just accepted the girl. The parents looked at each other, and rather than being upset at his choice, they started rejoicing. His mother exclaimed, "He likes her!" The boy's parents never doubted that their son would have success in life, but they had grown very concerned that he would never be able to open his heart and love someone else.
The girl's father just nodded and smiled and said that his daughter was called "Noah's snail" by her grandmother when she was little. The other parents asked why she was called that. The girl's father asked if they had ever heard the story about Noah's snail, and they said they had not. He begins the story about the snail:
Noah had built the ark, and the time had come for all of the animals to come to the ark and enter. The little snail started its slow, wearying, long trek to get to the ark. The big jungle cats raced passed the little snail, and the lion yelled out  to the snail, "Hurry, or you will never make it in time." The snail tried to push along faster, but was still very slow. Then the next group of animals came wooshing past. It was the monkeys. They were swinging, jumping and chattering. As they passed the snail, they laughed at it, and said, "You'll never make it! Why would Noah wait for you? You are a worthless creature." The snail just kept going at its excruciating, slow pace. Finally, it made it to the bottom of the ramp of the ark, with barely any strength left. It had taken so long to make the trip, that the snail was afraid it would look up and see the door of the ark already shut. However, when it raised it's little slimy snail head, and looked up to the top of the ramp, there was Noah at the open door saying, "Come on! I've been waiting for you." With the last of its strength, the little snail made it up the ramp of the ark.
At the end of his story, the girl's father had said that even though his daughter didn't seem to have great talent, or any special ability, she had the quality of optimism and perseverance. No matter the obstacles, no matter what others thought or said, she never became resentful, bitter, nor discouraged, and she never gave up.
Like "Noah's snail", sometimes it seems there is an impossible to complete goal in front of us. Circumstances and people, obstacles and objections are ever before us. There is no word of encouragement, and little sign of progress to keep us going. We see that others have not had the challenges that we have had, and we wonder if we should give up. Are we still in the will of God, or not? In these moments, we look into the scriptures, and find our direction and encouragement. Now, we can also remember "Noah's snail":
"...we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure."    2 Thess. 1:4
"Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."     Heb. 12:1
"...we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance (endurance); and perseverance, character; and character, hope."   Rom. 5:3-4
"...if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."   Rom. 8:25
(See also Lk. 8:15, Lk. 21:19, 2 Cor. 6:4, Eph. 6:18)

Our Father is a God of patience and perseverance (Rom. 15:5)


"One Thing Remains"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ