I had to share this story. Jimmy MacDonald is a former addict who has been sober for seven years. He found himself floating away without a paddle in an overturned kayak. He prayed to God for rescue and suddenly saw in disbelief a floating Tiki bar with Catholic priests coming to his aid. If that does not prove the existence of God, I cannot imagine what you are waiting for.
A former amateur boxer who now is a drug treatment counselor, Johnson was kayaking along the shore just north of Lake George Village in New York.
The priests were from the Paulist Fathers, a Catholic retreat on the lake. One heard the cries for help and pulled him to safety.
All of the priests then said a prayer for Johnson.
Fortunately, he accepted the help but this is more obvious than the old joke of the drown man in terms of divine intervention.
The story goes that a man was stuck in his house as water rose in a storm. However, he had faith and prayed to God. He had no fear because “God will save me.” Just then a man in a canoe came by and offered the drowning man a life jacket. “No thanks,” the man said, “God will save me!” The water continued to rise.
Then a man in a motorboat came by and called for him to climb in. The man dutifully replied “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”
Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety.” The man again replied, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”
So the helicopter flew away. Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to heaven where he sees God and was a bit peeved and complained that “I prayed every day and was a very religious man. I did everything the prayer books told me to do, so I have to ask you, why did you let me drown?”
Then God replied, “Who do you think sent the canoe, the motorboat, and the helicopter?”
The moral of the story is that, when a Tiki boat filled with priests comes to your rescue, climb aboard.
You had me at tiki bar.
Were the priests in a floating Tiki bar so that they could avoid NYS’s draconian social distancing laws?
What is a Tiki bar? Do all such float? Have priests?
From wikipedia, “Tiki Bar”
“A tiki bar is an exotic-themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a romanticized conception of tropical cultures, most commonly Polynesian. Some bars also incorporate general nautical themes or retro elements from the early atomic age.”
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Aloha-_Clifton%27s_Pacific_Seas%2C_618_So._Olive_St.%2C_Los_Angeles_%2890819%29.jpg?download
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Cmglee_Tonga_Room_and_Hurricane_Bar.jpg/1024px-Cmglee_Tonga_Room_and_Hurricane_Bar.jpg
I hallucinated that very situation back in the 70s.
Now if the tiki bar boat passengers had walked on water to effect the rescue, THAT would be mirabile dictu.
Psalms 14: 1 The fool hath said in his heart, there is no GOD. Believe as you choose, To each his own, and to thine own self be true. A good reading would be Pascal’s Book “The Wager”. Selah
A miracle? Miracles are rare.
What is the reason miracles are rare today, I wonder. Being raised from the dead was nearly commonplace (Lazarus, et. al.) 2000 years ago. A rare miracle these days (report of living ‘body’ delivered to the funeral home recently; they withdrew the death certificate.)
How many Floating Tiki Bars with a boatload of priests even exist outside of jokes? A miracle for sure.
All this talk about miracles: Look who knows so much! It just so happens that the kayaker was only MOSTLY dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there’s usually only one thing you can do….
…Go through his clothes and look for loose change.
/bump-tish
So, a priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk (swim?) into a (floating tiki?) bar. The bartender says, “What is this, a joke?”
/ba-dump
Thankyouverymuch, I’m here all week. Try the veal.
———————-
I would suggest the kayaker consider this not just a moment of clarity, but an actual, tangible sign–and not the Jeff Foxworthy sarcastic type of a sign.
Instructor pilot (IP): Did you study your emergency procedures?
Saudi Prince (SP): No, if there’s an emergency, Allah will provide.
IP: Maybe he provided you with this book of emergency procedures so you could save yourself.
SP: (blank stare)
True story.
The lord works in mysterious ways.
I’m especially intrigued why the priests had a tiki bar with them???
The USA could use a tiki boat full of priests right now
It’s against the law in most blue places now.
Must have been Irish.
Climb aboard. Sit right down. Baby don’t decide to drown.
Priests are going. So is Robinhood.
This article is a clown.