The next in the series of my didactic parables. This one is intended to be a companion story to Stronghart. I hope you find yourself blessed by it.
The Boy Who Loved Too Much
by J. D. H. Thigpen
There once was a boy that loved too much. His
name was Jimmy Scrubs. The problem with poor
young Scrubs was that he loved so many people with so much of his heart that he
just could not find the strength to keep up with it. He was actually in quite an agony
because he could never fully express the love which threatened to burst inside of
him. He knew too many people to whom his heart was drawn.
So great was his love that he wanted to be all things to all people.
He wanted to be the son of every disappointed father, the brother of
every bullied child, the husband to every lonely girl, the friend to
every wayward soul. But of course this could never be.
So distraught over his inner tension was Jimmy that one day he
decided that it would be better for him to love no one than to love
everyone without hope. Yet in order to do this he knew that he must
leave all those around him, for Jimmy could not help but love
everyone. So it was that Jimmy Scrubs ran away.
He went far abroad to foreign lands with names he could barely
pronounce. He wandered over mountain streams and wooded glens.
He passed through crowded cities and desolate wastelands. Yet all
the while he could not escape the consuming love inside of him,
which frustration and lack of expression had almost corrupted into
hate. The agonizing love drove him on and on. Pursued by the
relentless passion he felt for humanity he continued to flee. For
years he wandered, careful lest he should form attachments, till at
last he had spent all his strength in flight.
At last he could do no more but to sit down by a grand old
oak tree and listen to what his Maker had to say. The silent voice
of the Master spoke softly to his heart and said: “Dear child, you
have not loved them too much, but Me too little. Love Me and I will
show you how to love them.” At last Jimmy Scrubs knew what it
meant to love.
Prospect of Redemption 
This series is pretty amazing. Thanks for your thought-provoking tales, Jon.
Thanks so much, Cynthia! Glad you’ve been enjoying it!
Hey friend!
I really enjoyed this! How do you come up with stories like these? In a way, I can definitely relate to Jimmy Scrubs. Excellent story! I learn something new each time I read one of your parables!
Hey Jenny! Thanks so much for reading and responding! I’m thrilled that you’ve been getting something out of them.
As for how I come up with them, each story is different. They usually all come out in one sitting, but are triggered by different things. The first one was triggered by being forgotten about in a coffee shop, this one was just a thought that had been banging around in my head for a long time until I put it into words. And each character comes to me in a different way as well. Jimmy Scrubs came because I’ve felt the way he did, and his two names are two of my nicknames put together. It’s hard to explain, but sometimes the characters feel like real people and I’m just recording their stories instead of making them up.
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