"I felt around, and I realized there was no teeth, and I had felt, really, no great pain. "And then I realized, 'Oh my God, I'm in a whale's mouth. I'm in a whale's mouth, and he's trying to swallow me." Read more

But Jonah won't go to that dangerous place. He boards a ship in another direction, and runs into a storm. He's the cause of the storm and is tossed overboard to be swallowed by a whale.

After three days the whale vomits him onto the shore and he goes to Ninevah. Of course, he thinks the people there are unredeemable but the big destruction doesn't happen. His message is received and the people are forgiven.

Scholars say Jonah didn't exist and his story is a parable. But Jonah is real. There are millions of Jonahs in this world and I am one of them, grateful for the company.

The Biblical Jonah brings a certain lightness to living that helps us laugh at the silly arguments we have with God.

Do you want a recent example?

I recognize the inner voice, and it is strong; Up - and go to Ninevah!

Not Ninevah again! I know what that means. It's two hours through road works and traffic to see someone who doesn't want to see me.

Chances are, she won't even open the door, and if she does she'll eye me with suspicion and ask me what I want.

So I won't go. It's my only free day this week, and I'd prefer to spend time at the bird sanctuary where I'll find God in the dense bush and the song of the tui.

Except the day is heavy with rain, sheets of water washing away plans for the sanctuary.

This is like Jonah's storm at sea. Ninevah, says the voice, and I shut it down. Anything but Ninevah! Instead I'll do some shopping, a few things I need for the house.

The road hisses with wetness and the frantic wipers barely clear the windscreen. I turn into the store's carpark. Directly in front of me is a large vehicle that suddenly stops in the entrance.

Instinctively, I swerve to the left. I miss the back of the van but hit a metal barrier that crunches the front of my car.

This has to be Jonah's whale!

About a week later, I collect the car from the panel beaters, and drive to Ninevah. It is not done with grace. My prayer is a grumpy, "Whatever happened to free will?" But God has heard this complaint many times, and the answer is a feeling of soft, loving laughter.

So here I am at Ninevah.

She is sitting at the kitchen table set with two cups and saucers and some Anzac biscuits on a floral plate. She is much thinner than when I last saw her. Her eyes have an intense brightness.

"I was hoping to see you," she says with her usual directness. "I'm dying."

So that's how Ninevah happened, and no doubt will keep on happening. People like us mean well but we don't change and often have to be pushed.

We thank God for the story of Jonah!

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

The Potters Fields Park Management Trust recently denied the UK Bible Society's request to erect the inflatable whale at London's Potters Fields Park.

The whale was going to serve as a place where children could see actors re-enact the Old Testament story of a whale swallowing the prophet Jonah.

The attraction was to stay in a park beside the Thames during the summer months while children were out of school.

The 16-metre inflatable sea mammal has been beached on the same spot in the past as part of a pirate-themed attraction for children.

Actors were being lined up to play Jonah and other characters as part of an ambitious drive by the Bible Society to help reintroduce a new generation of children to once familiar stories.

It follows research showing that children are increasingly unable to identify Bible stories such as Noah's Ark or Moses.

The Bible Society insists the aim is not to promote any religious teaching.

Rather, it would introduce children to some of the most dramatic stories previous generations would have known.

But the chief executive of the Potters Fields Park Management Trust, which runs the site, turned down the request.

"I am afraid that under the terms of our lease we are not allowed to have any events of a religious nature," was the explanation.

James Catford, chief executive of the Bible Society, said: "We're not here to tell children what to believe.

"We simply want to give them a really fun experience they will always remember."

The Telegraph, in London, editorialised against the ban.

"Whether they swallow it whole or not, children have a right to know the story," the editorial stated.

"Bible stories are not a crime - yet," it concluded.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Christian Post
• Image: The Telegraph