The Mermaid Story

Hey!
Ok, so my new weekly blog post thing is........ still undecided :) I'm thinking very hard on what to d but I'm uncertain. So, right now 'Picture of the week' is still an option and another one just hit me, 'Story of the week.' Now, there are at least a trillion amazing short stories out in the wide, world and thanks to my friend, the Internet, it's pretty easy for me to find plenty. So, I am considering a 'story of the week' that I either find or write myself. Then, after posting the story, I'll give a few thoughts, or words about it. So, even though this may not be permanent, I wanted to post a story today that is just amazing. It's an incredible story and it actually makes my dad choke up. (Not easy to do)...

The Mermaid Story by Robert Fulgham
(From 'All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten')

One rainy Sunday afternoon I found myself in charge of 70 or so school age children. We were in a gymnasium, and I knew that if I didn't come up with an idea before long - pure chaos would ensue. At that very moment I remembered a game - an old roll playing game called Wizards, Giants and Goblins. So I got my charges to calm down (no easy feat, thank you very much), and I explained the rules of the game:

"Now," I proclaimed, "if you wish to be a Giant, stand at the front of the room. If you wish to be a Wizard, stand in the middle. And those who wish to be Goblins stand toward the back. All right, let the play begin." I allowed the children several minutes to confer in huddled masses until the action resumed.

As I was standing there I felt I tug on my coat. When I looked down, there was a little girl with blue, questioning eyes.

" 'Scuse me."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Scuse me, but where do the mermaids stand?"

"Mermaids? Mermaids?" I sputtered. "There are no mermaids."
"Oh, yes there are. For you see, I'm a mermaid, and I wish to know where to stand."

Now here was a little girl who knew exactly what she was - a mermaid, pure and simple and she wanted to know where to stand. And, she wouldn't be satisfied standing on the sidelines watching the others play. She had her place, and she wanted to know where to stand.

But, where do the mermaids stand? - all those children we try to mold and form to fit into our boxes.

Sometimes, I have moments of inspiration. I looked down at that child, and I held her hand -

"Why the mermaid shall stand next to The King of the Sea." (Yeah, King of the Fools would be more likely.)

So, we stood together - the mermaid and the King of the Sea - as the Wizards, Giants and Goblins roiled by in grand procession. It isn't true, by the way, what they say about mermaids not existing. I know they do for I've held one's hand.

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Wow, so I LOVE this story! It's so good! I think that this story really portrays the world as it is today. This story outlines how everything around us works. This world is so "boxy." We push everyone into a box and we write a billion rules that everyone has to follow or else they're not accepted. And even though this is such a common view, it lacks one of the most important things in life, which is individuality. This view of our "boxed-in world" lacks the creativity and uniqueness of all people.

Now, there are two important people in this story, obviously. The first is the little girl. She really makes me smile in this story. This young, school aged girl recognizes who she is and she won't let anyone tell her otherwise. She was strong enough to go against the normal rules and stand up for who she was and who she wanted to be. Unlike the 70 other kids, she wouldn't let the rules of the game push her into a box. She wanted to be a mermaid, because that's who she knew she was. Other than just recognizing this, she also had the courage to tell the leader. She had the courage to ask him where the mermaids went, and even when he told her there were none, she was able to stand firm and stay who she was. She was a mermaid, and she knew it.

The second important person was the man that was in charge of this game. When that little girl told him she was a mermaid, he didn't tell her she was wrong. This man looked at that little girl and accepted her for who she was, he let her be who she wanted to be in life. Even though he made up different rules at first, he didn't push this child into a box, but instead he let her stand next to the 'King of The Sea.'

This is just so important in life. We all need a 'King of The Sea' in our lives to accept us regardless of what everyone else says. We all need that courage of the little girl to be able to stand up and say, "I'm a mermaid." We have to be able to recognize that we don't have to be something because everyone else tells us to, we can be who we want to be. And our 'King of The Sea' will be next to us always, accepting us for being individual, accepting us for standing out.

God is our 'King of The Sea' and if we want to be mermaids (or mermen) then we can! God isn't here to push us in a box. He created us and loves exactly the way we are, and no goblin, giant, or wizard can change that.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12