Jonah and the Wind’s Message
One morning in the fall, Jonah walked on the forest path. The trees were tall and still. But then a soft wind began to blow, and the leaves danced in the air. As the wind brushed Jonah’s cheeks, he heard a whisper, “Get ready. Get everyone ready.”
Jonah stopped. “Get ready for what?” he asked. But the wind did not say anything more. It just swirled around his feet and ran ahead of him down the path.
Jonah felt excited and a sense of joy. He hurried back to his neighborhood. He knocked on doors. He called to people in the street. “The wind says to get ready!” he told them. “Something good must be coming. We should make our hearts ready.”
Some people smiled and listened. They said, “If something good is coming, we should get ready by being good to one another.” They helped each other, shared their food with those who had less, and were kind to one another.
But some people only laughed. “You heard the wind wrong,” they said. “Nothing is coming.” They did not want to change anything.
Jonah did not argue. He just kept walking all over his town, reminding people gently,
“Good things grow when hearts are ready. Be kind. Be honest. Help each other.”
Day after day, Jonah listened to the wind. He even took out his dad’s binoculars to look for the good that was coming. And each day when he listened and looked, the wind continued to whisper the same message: “Get ready. Get everyone ready.”
Jonah felt something new in his heart. He did not know exactly what was coming, but he knew it was someone wonderful. Someone important. Someone that everyone needed.
So, he kept sharing his message, “Make your hearts ready. Be good to one another. Be ready.”
Little by little, the town began to change. People smiled more. They forgave old hurts. They tried to live in peace.
Jonah still did not know who was coming. But he knew his job was to help everyone get ready.
And in the quiet forest, the wind whispered once more, “Someone great is near.”
Inspired by Matthew 3:1-12, the Second Sunday of Advent.
(Be sure to read the continuation of the story in next week’s newsletter for the Third Sunday of Advent.)
