Jonah: A Short Story by Ohio Writer Gary Flory

 

The ground had warmed and all chance of frost had passed. The garden had been plowed and raked, ready to be planted. I had just finished a row of carrots, and was getting down on my knees placing the peas in a row, when I heard the screen door slam shut. My grandson, Pete, had just stormed out of the house and was headed my way. I kept on planting, never looking up. I could see his shoes standing next to me, but he didn’t say a word. I set a pea on his shoe, and kept on planting. “GRANDPA”. I could tell he was smiling by the tone of his voice. He reached down, grabbed the pea, and put it on top of my head. That’s when I reached out and grabbed him quickly, half scaring him, but making him laugh out loud. “So, what were you upset about?"

“I’m mad at my dad. Some of my friends were riding their bikes down to the shake shop, and he wouldn’t let me go.”

“Why not?”

“He told the neighbor that I would rake the leaves out of his yard.”

“Is that a big deal?”

“YES!”

“I hate that guy.”

That’s when I stopped planting, and looked at Pete with a serious frown. “Why do you hate your neighbor?”

“He’s old and cranky, and always complaining about everything.”

I stood up, put my arm on Pete’s shoulder and said, “Let’s take a walk.”

We went down the trail, through the woods, to the pond. There were two Adirondack chairs on the bank overlooking the pond, and I invited Pete to sit. “Pete, have you ever heard the story of Jonah?” He thought a little bit, and said, “No, I don’t think so.”

“It’s about a guy who was mad at his Father too. It’s been a while since I read the story, but I remember it well.”

Pete sat back in his chair and was watching the dragonfly that landed on a cattail. “What happened?”

“His name was Jonah, and his Father asked him to go to that country up north and tell them that if they didn’t stop worshiping false gods, that their city would be destroyed. Just like you, Jonah hated that country, and said no, I’m not going to do it.”

“Good for him,” Pete said.

Before he could say anything else, I said, “But that’s not the end of the story.”

“What happened, did his father whip him?”

“In a way, he kinda did,” I said. “Instead of going toward the country, he got on a ship, and sailed the opposite direction.”

“What did his dad do?”

“He didn’t do anything for a few days, but then He caused a big storm to come, and the ship was being tossed all over the place. Everyone thought the ship was going to sink.”

“Was Jonah scared?”

“He knew that this storm was his fault, that God was upset with him, and he had to make it stop before the ship sank and everyone would drown.”

“But how could he stop the storm?” By this time, Pete’s attention was fully on me.

“He told the men that they had to throw him overboard, to make the storm stop.”

“But he would drown, Grandpa.”

“Yes, that’s what he thought, but better one should die than all. They didn’t want to do it, but he insisted they had too. So they did.”

“That’s a sad ending, Grandpa.”

“Oh, but that’s not the end. When he hit the water, a huge fish came and swallowed him.”

“You mean a shark ate him?”

“No, it was a special fish that God created. Some people say it was a whale, but it was more than just any old whale.”

“Did the stomach acid kill him or did he suffocate?”

“Nether, remember, I said this was a special fish. The fish started swimming back in the direction that they had come from.”

“Jonah must have thought he was going to die in the fish.”

“Think about this, Pete, it would have been pitch black in there. He was soaking wet with salt water, with no way of knowing what time it was, or how deep underwater they were. If the fish opened its mouth, the pressure and water would kill him.”

“What happened next?”

“Well, when he realized God still wanted him to go to that country, he started praying, asking God to help him. He lived three days in the belly of this fish, until the fish spit him out close to shore. He was ready to go and do what his Father had asked him to do.”

“When he told that country what was going to happen to them, what did they do?”

“They listened to him, and God spared the country.” 

“So, you’re telling me this because I was mad at my dad?”

About then, a fish jumped up in the middle of the pond. We looked at each other. “I told you this story because I don’t want to see you in that fish’s belly,” then started laughing. Pete joined in, “Nor would I.”

As we walked back to the house, Pete told me to lean down. When I did, the pea fell out of my hair. “I didn’t want anybody to call you a pea-brain,” and he started laughing at me. “I’ll pea-brain you,” and started messing up his hair. He took off running, and I shouted, “Where are you going?” He kept on going, but I heard him say that he had some raking to do. As I knelt down to finish planting, I said thank you, Lord, for giving me a teaching opportunity. Sometimes I do feel like a pea-brain, and let out a chuckle.

Read the story of Jonah in the Old Testament, Jonah 1-4

6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. (KJV)

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