J.A.M.

Posts Tagged ‘Storms’

Recently, I spent a day travelling around the immediate Coastline in the area in which I live. I love the Sea. The horizon has always held a special fascination for me. Just how far is it away from where I stand … What’s on the other side of it … How long will it take me to swim there … all questions I no doubt filled my Grandfathers ears with when he used to take me to the beach as a young boy after reminding me not to call him Grandpa in front of the ‘Nifty Nifties’ – but rather Uncle Ben. Perhaps my love for the Sea comes from him. He was in the Navy in the war and regaled us many times with stories from “Up North” in Italy. How I dreaded them at the time but would give anything to listen to him telling them now. He’s been gone quite a while ……

The Sea has always intrigued me and in particular the coastline itself – that part of it which cheekily dashes up to your feet, swallowing your footprints while you walk along the beach. The Sea – or Ocean as it should be called – is vast! Enormous – and it is only gravity that stops it from flying off into space. Yet we are able to walk right along it’s edge and jump out of it’s way should we wish to play along. Fascinating stuff! I’ve done that many times ……

The Edge Of The Ocean (Photo by Gary Gerber)

The Ocean is full of lessons for us too… Life isn’t always smooth sailing and sometimes things can get pretty stormy and we find ourselves in the middle of a dark, foreign place. The waves crash all around us, the storms rage and sometimes despair can creep in. We’re blown around from side to side, battling the waves of temptation, fear, apprehension,doubt. At other times it’s smooth sailing and everything appears calm and peaceful. It’s at times like these that we sometimes find ourselves standing still. No breeze. No movement. Stagnation as we wait to move on. At other times the winds are just right and we set our sails, define our course and head off with purpose. Then a wave appears out of nowhere that takes us by surprise and once again we tumble along not knowing where the current is going to take us. This is life.

Now any good sailor knows you need a strong anchor when sailing the high seas. Surely this is true too for life itself. We need an anchor! My anchor in life is God. My trust and my faith is in Him. Does this mean the wind never blows? No. At times the gale force winds seem unbearable as they toss us from side to side threatening to capsize our boat and send us tumbling into the choppy Ocean. Some say an anchor is like a crutch and many times I have heard it said that ‘”Christians use Jesus as a crutch beacause they cannot handle real life”. I would, to a certain extent, agree. What is a crutch? It is a support. A ‘helping hand’ in difficult circumstances. I have no problem seeing God as my ‘crutch’ in life. Some use alchohol or drugs or power or money as their crutch. I choose to trust in God to be the support He has promised to be in times good or bad. So – this is when we need to use our anchor or ‘crutch’ to steady us and stop us from aimlessly dfrifting off-course. At other times there is a gentle breeze softly nudging us along as we head for our destination. We need to take heed at times like these when everything seems plain sailing though as it is at such times that those unexpected waves can catch us off guard.

I love the Sea. It teaches me so much about life. Next time you see the edge of the Ocean walk up to it and gently touch it with your toes. Bend down and run your fingers through it and think of it’s vastness and realise that you are actually touching the very edge of it. It’s quite a miracle really.

The Ocean (Photo by Gary Gerber)