I went away to school in Hawaii some time ago. The beautiful island of Oahu offered not only an education, but a variety of experiences to grow from as well. One particular day some friends and I ventured down to the water's edge for a rest from our academic pursuits. Not far from the beach was a small island that had been set aside as a wildlife refuge. We saw others making the trek across the reef connecting the island to the beach, so we followed.
The little island was full of things to explore and discover. We slowly toured the island taking in all we could. We found all sorts of things that had washed up on the island's beaches and sifted through them looking for anything interesting. Eventually we came to a large shelf that was filled with water to about our ankles. We found many sea cucumbers, starfish, and sea urchins while walking along the shelf. After a few moments something greater caught our attention.
In the middle of the shelf lay a big, rusted buoy. We trudged over to the buoy to look it over more closely. We soon decided that it had been tossed onto the shelf when the waves had been much bigger. As the water calmed and receded the buoy was left stranded, waiting for us to find it. While inspecting our discovery someone suggested pushing the buoy back into the ocean. At once we were at work. We quickly rolled the buoy across the shallow pool to the edge. However, the edge of the shelf posed a much greater problem. The waves there were rough, and every now and then one would be big enough to crash onto the shelf. As the bigger waves would crash we would run away from the buoy for fear of being crushed under its weight. Not only would the waves stop our efforts, but they would also push the buoy further back onto the shelf.
We finally abandoned our attempt to free the buoy and it remained on the shelf. Despite the failure that day I succeeded in learning one of life's greatest lessons. Many people find challenges and weaknesses have become trapped in their lifes, like the buoy. With valiant efforts they struggle to overcome until, finally, they reach the edge where they are ready to cast away those difficulties. While the journey to the edge may seem easy, they soon find waves of frustration or failure pushing them back. The last step is sometimes the hardest to take.
I often find myself trying to cast off my "buoys" only to be pushed back. The more I live my life, the more I realize that I cannot do it alone. I have learned the way is much easier if I follow God, and turn to Him for help. While we must go to the edge and do all that we can to overcome, we can never truly free ourselves until we cast away our problems despite all that keeps pushing us back. I've found that just as the ocean reached past its bounds to place the buoy on the shelf, it can also reach past them to take it back.
(Modified from original story written in 1995. Posted here by request from Cailin.)