This wasn't like the State Fair, or something that came around every year. This was the "Under One Sun" Water Park. See, with the crash of the economy, America hit her knees. When America fell, the rest of the world felt it.... When suddenly, from what seemed to be the ashes of humanity--- a man arose. A man with a great vision and a power to woo the masses. We were now what the earth had groaned for: One World. The government was ruled by this man, and to celebrate the rise from the economy crash, with the new-found wealth, our great leader set forth on a tour around the world.
But because he knew that little kids would not want to stand at some political party, he built a theme park. A water park built with every imaginable kind of slide and splash zone ever created. While the kids could play, the parents could come to listen to him speak.
Finally, it was our country's turn.
The best part about the whole thing was that it was free. There was no cost for admissions.... my family never had a whole lot, so when we heard about such a great opportunity we freed our schedule and decided to go.
When we pulled into the park my eyes lit up. I was always nicknamed "the fish" of the family... I absolutely love swimming. This was my dream.
As we began to walk in, I realized there was something funny about the place. I couldn't quite place it, but I shook off the dreadful feeling and ran to the changing rooms to throw on my bathing suit. Nothing could keep me from swimming!!!
Or could it??
As I walked into the changing room, there were millions of women gossiping, and sharing the greatest achievements of their children. The teenage girls were showing off their latest hairstyles and throwing around the latest celebrity's name. But that wasn't what caught me off guard. That was typical to hear. No, what threw me for a loop was the absence of joy. These people all seemed excited, just like I was.... but they seemed as if it was all rehearsed. Their eyes were dead and their faces were devoid of emotion. It was all too strange.
I quickly walked out and looked for a different place to change. There, in the middle of the entrance stood my family... surrounded by men in dark suits. My dad looked frantic, his hands were waving back and forth and my mom was nodding her head vigorously. My younger brothers stood looking shell-shocked and dazed as my older sister frantically attempted to pull there gaze from what appeared to be a young women unconsciously on the pavement. What had I missed?!
I ran over and my ears began to pick up piees from the conversation between my father and what appeared to be security guards; "...just died....after drinking.......you people...." as the security gaurd listened to my father's rant, I came close enough to hear his entire response; "There's nothing to worry about, she's fine."
I was shocked. How could he say she was fine? This lady, from what I could gather, had stopped at the water fountain before heading to the pool... she sipped the water, and keeled over and died!
When my dad heard the repeated response of the guard, he looked at us and said; "That's it, we're leaving."
To which the body guard responded, "I'm sorry... you can't"
That's when I realized.......
As we had been walking in, I noticed. Something threw me off, it wasn't the entrance, that was large.... There was no exit to this place.
Suddenly what was once an exciting family outing, became entrapment. We were enslaved to the will of this water park. No one could rescue us.
We were all in the same park. All doomed to ride slides and swim. One could make the most of it, but the looks on the people's faces told me that this "park for fun" ... was no longer fun after thousands and thousands of hours. None of the rides brought a lasting sense of happiness. There was so much entertainment and excitement it made you physically ill.
Still. We were forced to play on this playground. Months passed, and there was still no escaping. No freedom.
Not only that, but the water was slowly killing people. For most, it was so slow it was unnoticeable. People would spend hours here, and days, and the days would turn to years... eventually, people would just die.
For others it was fast, like the first lady we saw when we stepped into the park on that fateful day. My family and I did our best to avoid the water. We saw what it was doing to people. We did our best to warn folks before they stepped through the gates... but to no avail.
No one would listen. We were the crazy lunatic family of six.
What did we eat? As little as we could. But all was free here. There was every kind of food imaginable. But why would we eat the food, if we knew even the water was bad?
Days and days passed.
It was hard to stay dry. Even fully clothed folks would run and shove you into the nearest pool. We'd *have* to drink water at some point....
We were beginning to waste away, and the taste of death seemed sweeter than staying here. But it didn't seem fair, to die like that. Yet it didn't seem fair to live like this.
Die from having fun.
Or die from not having fun. It got to the point where we were begging our parents to let us in to the water. To just play and get it over with. We were all doomed to die one day, why not die happy?
But then it came.
What exactly?
A whisper.... a hint of hope. There was a tale floating around that a rescuer was here. A lifeguard.
Someone who had been to this death-trap of a water park before. It was said that he'd swam, and drank...and yet was alive. It was even rumored that he'd died... but 'magically' came back to life.
Sounded crazy. But then again, so did a killer water park.
It was rumored that this lifeguard had his own supply of water, a supply that never seemed to run out.... and wouldn't kill you. My family and I sat again, day after day, on the bench... awaiting that lifeguard's appearance. But it seemed like he never came. That's when it was slipped to us. The piece of paper. It read:
"Whoever seeks to save his life will loose it, and whoever looses his life, will gain it."
Did that mean we played in the deathly water?
No.
But it meant we should stop trying to save our own skin. If we died without a lifegaurd, that's great. But in order for a lifegaurd to come, you have to need help. My family and I realized, we needed help. So we sat and waited, and determined in our minds to no longer even eat the food to survive. We would have to waste away.
And we began to.
Death seemed like it was coming slowly, he haunted our every movement. Every gasp for air was heavier. But then it came. The lifegaurd! He rescued us! When it seemed we would slip and fall, he came. He gave us refreshing water, and we never thirsted again. The water park seemed to be just an attempt at re-creating what this lifeguard had. He knew a way out of the park, and led us there.
But instead of staying home, I and my family decided we needed to follow this lifegaurd wherever he said was safe. We no longer trusted the government to provide the "one world" water. No, instead we followed the man who rescued us.
You see, we're all forced to play on the "playground" of life.
There's sin in our playground, and it's slowly killing all of us.... it seems fun and fantastic, but we realize people around us seem as though they're in a trance. Like it's all fake. It never truly satisfies.... but everyone is doing it, so ... why shouldn't we? We all die one day. Why not die happy?
But the sickness and fakeness of it all stops some of us...just when all seems lost, that's when we get hope. Sometimes it's by word of mouth through a friend. Just "gossip" in the air, and sometimes its in the form of a track that we get handed at a restaurant. Whatever it is, we see it and think; "I know this sounds crazy... but so is what I'm living..."
And we realize that these words are true:
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13 & 14
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