Safe Harbour

Facing the cyclones of life

Photo by Julia Fiander on Unsplash

I would not have chosen to be on a ship in the middle of a cyclone.

But who of us chooses our paths? Oh sure, we choose the smaller paths of what shall we eat; what shall I read? Even where will I live?

But Life is the great teacher and the lessons we face, are the lessons we learn. And most of us don’t or can’t learn the lessons until they come knocking at our own door.

I had plans for sunshine.

I had plans for morning coffee on the beach not in the torrential rains.

Has a wave of cancer washed over you?

Has the love you once held been washed away?

“Life is what happens to you while making plans.”—the famous musician wrote!

So many questions surface in the storms of life that come as uninvited teachers. We sit at the feet of professors like cyclones and cancer who reveal things we could not; would not know unless trouble had shown up.

We are safe here on this big boat, harbored with anchors holding us steady. Yet, we rock and roll and it is all part of our adventure and pilgrimage. It is not smooth sailing.

But as I read the news, there doesn’t seem to be a place for smooth sailing.

As I sat covered, outside and in the torrential rains and winds, this poem surfaced. There are references to the New Zealand birds and black sand — iron filled coast— that framed the imagery. And of course, I am drawing from the great poem, Psalm 139. The ocean… the search for safe harbour and the cyclone all gave me words for this poem.

Gwen took the picture of the Gannet yesterday— a bird that mates for life and pilgrims every 4-7 years across to Australia. The lovely bird shows up in the poem as well. She’s going to do a water color of the Gannet today during the storm.

Enjoy!

Stephen