The Princess opened the sliding door, which concealed the spiraling tunnel. Giving into her curiosity and wonder at the untraveled passage, the naive and innocent Princess stepped through the threshold and into the tunnel. After traveling for some time, she noticed the inner parts of her shoes becoming wet. Then her ankles, then her shins, and then her knees. The tunnel was dark; it had led her astray from the door by which she entered, so that she could no longer find her way back. With no other solution, she continued forward in the direction of her initial journey.
The water continued to rise: mid-thigh, hip, chest, neck. As her panic level began to increase, she realized the passage opened up into a waterway. Catching her breath, she dove in–hoping for the best.
Immediately, the Princess noticed the coldness and heaviness of the water. Surely she must be in the deepest of the depths of a great body of water. With great effort of strength, she swam upward, upward, upward. Her arms and her legs burned, but not more so than her eyes, which she found she could not keep open for any great length of time. When her eyes were open, she could not see hardly anything, for the waters were dark and murky. Her air was running out, but she glimpsed a dim light ahead, so she pressed forward to the mark before her.
Conveniently, as she drew closer and closer to the light, a rope seemed to be lowered to her, and eagerly, the Princess reached for the rope and pulled with all her might. All she could acknowledge was the fear that she would not reach the top before her last breath was gone, and so she pulled even more and even harder.
At last, she broke through the water–only to find herself among an oil spilled sea. The darkness, the murkiness, the heaviness as she swam, it was oil! Looking about her, she saw only dark oil plastering the water. Her skin felt not wet, as it would from a recreational swim, but slimy. The fear and panic began to gradually increase within her being again.
A medium size boat, from which the rope came, floated just to her right, and she anxiously swam in its direction. She reached the ladder, and climbed up it, only to find the boat deserted with no one on it. The Princess went to the control center, and started up the boat–and when she did, the boat exploded and parts of it were strewn across the expanse of oily water!
The force of the explosion sent the now horror-stricken Princess back into the water, along with many other pieces, large and small, of the boat. Without knowledge of what else to do, the Princess grabbed hold of the largest piece of “boat” nearest her, climbed on top, and began paddling her way to the shore.
She did not know where she was. She did not know what to do. Lost and confused. Fearful and hopeless. Despairing and regretting that she opened that door paddled she on–on and on and on. Toward the shore, toward her prospective redemption.
But it was so far away, even after her continual paddling. She would never reach it. She would never be found. She would never know what she had gotten herself into. So the Princess laid down across the boat piece, closed her eyes, and prepared to die.
Meanwhile, back on shore, the explosion was heard and the boat in flames was seen. People came running from all places to the beach to see the great disaster. With a shout, one individual said he found someone! A team of five people came to his destination. Sure enough, they saw the Princess, lying across her boat piece with her eyes closed, but knew she was dead. As the boat piece floated nearer to them, they prepared to rescue its passenger, though perhaps it was too late.
The Princess heard the shout, and she heard the talking back and forth between multiple voices. Hallucinations, surely. She thought. But when she felt the jolt of their arms catching her piece of boat, her eyes swiftly opened and beheld her Redeemer, the one who had found her.
A tear slowly trickled down her cheek, as she looked upon him, and she gratefully smiled at the 5 helpers. Her Redeemer lifted her up, and took her to safety. She was not lost! The Princess was not lost!
She had faced the murky waters and fire. She had withstood great fear and panic and terror. She had been lost and confused, but NOW she was found and safe. She had been found. Praise the Lord! She had been found.
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In this parable:
The Princess–as daughters of God, the King of Kings, we are Princesses!
The Tunnel–we all choose the paths we will travel, whether they are ones that have been walked before us by the prophets and apostles of old or ones that are foreign to us and are dark.
Murky Waters and Fire–in life, sometimes we go through trials that can leave us with fear, panic, doubt, and despair.
One Redeemer–Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, the One who finds us when we are lost, the One who lifts us up when we are down.
5 Helpers–God uses people to be instrumental in bringing others to Him.
Zealous Dedication 