The water got rather choppy, the ride was rough. There were even white caps on the river. Which is signifcant, when you're talking as small of a channel as we were in.
It got pretty rough.
The captain discussed the problem. If the waters stayed this rough, in order to keep the boat perpendicular to shore during the ceremony, he would have to run the engines throughout the ceremony, creating unpleasant noise, and possibly drowining out the preacher's voice.
But... there would be no way around it. If the waters stayed rough.
Seeing as how it was our wedding day, once we began our entrance, I forgot all about it, lost in the moment.
So the story goes, told to us later by the captain, and confirmed by the rest of the crew:
the moment he made the 90 degree turn to come into shore... the waters calmed
Mystically, magically... they calmed in an instant.
The waters stayed calm throughout our ceremony. The boat stayed perfectly still. There was no need to run the engines.
The captain was amazed. He insisted it was like a miracle, for the waters which had been so rough, to calm so suddenly.
And he has the decades of experience on the Ohio River to know what's a miracle on those waters and what is not.
The memory of that detail, long forgotten, came back to me a few nights ago.
I was thinking about my life, about the turmoil I have felt for so long. And I realized that... it doesn't matter how much I run the engines, the performance won't be just right until the waters calm. And while I may have control of the boat, I don't have control of the waters.
There's only One Who does.
I still have a duty to run my engines the best I can, to steer my boat the best I can, to make my performance as captain the best it can be... but I need to realize that I'm doing so within the environment of the water. And rough, or calm, I have no control over the water.
There is only One who can calm the water. Only One who can still the waves.
I have been trying too hard, doing too much, in fruitless effort.
Because I am not relying on Him enough.
I still have a duty to captain my vessel... but I must let go of the water.
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear...Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,...Be still, and know that I am God:...Selah." -- Psalm 46:1-2a,3a, 10a, 11c
1 comment:
So true, Thank you for sharing.
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