Lonny Chapter Four
CHAPTER FOUR
The next few months went by very quickly for Lonny. At first, he looked forward to each new morning because he believed that he would soon return to Turtle Island. Every day he got up and looked to see if the Turtle God had answered his prayer. But the days turned into weeks and the weeks became months and nothing happened. Lonny tried to stay busy. He spent a lot of time swimming in the sea to pass the time. He tried to keep believing that the Turtle God would help him get home, but that became harder to do when the months turned into almost another year.
One day while Lonny and Mr. Blue were talking to each other on the beach after Lonny’s daily swim in the sea, they heard the loud squawking of birds who were flying over them. The large birds soared easily through the sky, headed toward whatever island they were going to next. Lonny continued to look at the sky long after the birds had disappeared and when he finally put his head down there were tears in his eyes.
“I don’t think my prayer will ever get answered,” he told Mr. Blue. “I’ll never get wings and be able to fly like a bird over the water. That’s all I asked for. I wanted to be able to fly just long enough to get to Turtle Island. That way I could get home.”
The next morning, when Mr. Blue awoke he noticed that a bird he had never seen on Wing Island before was quietly sitting on one of the branches of a nearby tree. Since he always liked to make strangers feel welcome, he flew over to the new bird to introduce himself.
“Ah, my friend,” he said to the new bird. “I’m Mr. Blue and I’d like to welcome you to Wing Island.”
“It is very good hearted of you to show kindness to a stranger like me,” the new bird replied. “My name is Lena. Are you are a friend to all birds who must pass through this island alone on their way home?”
“Not just birds,” Mr. Blue replied. “One of my best friends is a turtle from Turtle Island who got lost in the sea and landed here. He’s been here almost two years now, and I’m still trying to find a way to help him get back home. It’s very far to Turtle Island and there’s an octopus who attacks turtles in the water between us. We tried to find a way to get the Turtle God to help him and I ask everyone who comes to this island if they know of any way we can do that. Do you know of any way we can get the Turtle God’s attention?
“You already have the Turtle God’s attention. He hears the prayers of us all, whether we are birds or turtles, or any other creature. He doesn’t live in any one place because he is everywhere, so you don’t need to get his attention. He is already near you.”
Mr. Blue’s face brightened. “You know about the Turtle God?”
“I know about God, the God of everything. He’s everywhere. I know He can hear us talking right now. I’m sure that if you prayed to Him about anything He heard you. He made all of us. He knew each one of us before we were ever born.”
“But what about answering our prayers? Why won’t He answer my friend Lonny’s prayer? He only wants to get home to Turtle Island. He asked God to give him wings just so he could fly home. He feels like God won’t listen to him because he once did a bad thing and he asked to be forgiven so he could get home.”
“Oh, He answers prayers in different ways. One way is by using others to help us when we need something. You see, He is not made like us, with a body we can see. Instead, He lives inside of us and lets us be His arms and legs and eyes. He helps us to see what needs to be done, and then He helps us to do it. Another way is by change. When things in our lives change, we change too. Sometimes we don’t even realize how much we have changed and we still think we can’t do anything about our problem. But, if we look at how much we have changed, then we will know that we can. Change takes time and we need to be patient.
‘I know you said Lonny asked to be able to fly like a bird. That’s not what I mean when I say change. God made each of us different, and asking for something that’s not part of His creation isn’t the change I’m talking about. I’m sure that something will happen and he will find his way to Turtle Island. But, I must tell you something. God heard Lonny’s prayer. There was something that God considers very important in his prayer. It’s more important than anything else. It’s more important than getting to Turtle Island. It’s more important than wings. And God wants to answer that part of Lonny’s prayer most of all.”
“What was it?” Mr. Blue asked.
“He asked God to forgive him. That’s more important than anything, because God has made a special place called heaven for anyone who has been forgiven for everything they have done wrong. It’s a place you can live in forever and ever. More than anything, God wants Lonny to be forgiven. That’s the only way he can go to heaven.”
“Why doesn’t He just forgive Lonny? Can’t He do that?”
“No, Mr. Blue. You see, He has a Son named Jesus. He gave the power to forgive to Jesus and He will not change His mind. He loves everyone and answers prayers, but when you ask for forgiveness that is the most important thing you can ask for. You must believe in the Son of God and ask Him to forgive you. He turns no one away, and can forgive anything. God wants to answer Lonny’s prayers, but the most important one is the one He cannot. Lonny must pray to Jesus the Son so he can be forgiven. Anyone the Son forgives, the Father also forgives.”
That afternoon Mr. Blue told Lonny everything that Lena told him. Lonny went by himself back to the place where he had first prayed to the Turtle God. This time he prayed to the God of everything. He asked Him to send His Son Jesus. He told God that he believed in His Son, and wanted to be forgiven. That night as Lonny went to sleep in his nest he knew that he had been forgiven. He knew that tonight was a very special night. Everything was the same on the outside, but on the inside Lonny knew he was different now. He felt more loved than he ever had before. He decided that he would let God show him how to get back to Turtle Island.
In the morning, Mr. Blue was already waiting for Lonny when he woke up in his nest.
“Ah, my friend, how did it go last night? Did you do what I told you?” Mr. Blue asked, as soon as Lonny opened his eyes.
Lonny smiled at Mr. Blue. “Yes, I did. And I am forgiven now,” he told Mr. Blue. “And, I learned something last night that I didn’t know before.”
“Ah, good, good, I’m glad that bird decided to stop here on her way home. What did you learn?” Mr. Blue asked.
“I learned that everybody needs the Son of God. I learned that we have all done wrong things and need to be forgiven. No one is perfect, except God. You’re my best friend, Mr. Blue, the first one to help me when I first got to this island. You’re the one who kept on trying to help me long after I gave up on helping myself. I want you with me forever and ever. I want you to be forgiven, too. Haven’t you ever done anything wrong?”
“Me?” Mr. Blue asked, looking down at his feet. “Well, some things that I did a long time ago, when I was young. I try to be nice to everybody. Even Lena who I talked to yesterday said I was a friend to all birds. I told her I try to be friendly to anyone who needs a friend.”
“It’s not about what you do,” Lonny told Mr. Blue. “It’s about believing in Jesus the Son of God. You know that only the Son can forgive us, not just for what we did before, but even when we do things wrong now, or even when we do things wrong when we didn’t mean to. No one is completely good all the time.”
“Ah, my friend, you are right,” Mr. Blue agreed. “No one is perfect all the time. I don’t believe in different gods for different islands anymore. Lena said there is only one God Who made everything and everybody and gave the power to forgive to His Son. I believe that and I will do as you did.”
Lonny was so happy to know that Mr. Blue was going to pray to the Son that he rushed into the water and swam quickly around the island. He pretended that he was racing with other turtles, swimming as fast as he could. Then he dove down deep until he was almost to the bottom of the sea, and let himself float back up to the surface of the water. He turned around in the water again and again, smiling at Mr. Blue and laughing.
“Ah, you dance in the water, my friend,” Mr. Blue said. “You were made for the sea. That is where you are happiest.”