It started early yesterday morning.
The cell phone never seems to be more than three feet from me, even when I’m sleeping at night. Especially at night.
Its incredibly loud ringing shattered my sleep about an hour before the alarm was set to go off. The phone is always set on the loudest setting. I often find myself in noisy, industrial settings. I make it vibrate all the time too, just in case. The whole effect is very effective at shocking the system into the awake (and mostly coherent) realm when it goes off at night.
We need you at work. Now.
“OK. I’m on my way.”
I splash some water on my head, which serves the dual purpose of helping pry my eyes open so I’ll be safe driving in and knocking my hair down so I’ll be a little less frightening when I get there. Skipping the shave saves a couple minutes (but doesn’t help the fright factor).
Cook some water in the microwave for a cup of instant coffee while I get dressed. Then it’s out the door.
Surely I’ll be able to duck out a little early in the afternoon to get that time back and get to the things I had planned for the day?
Not a chance. Too much going on. We need you here. Gotta get it all done before I go.
Then this morning at 1:30 AM it started again. Water. Coffee. Clothes. Hit the road.
Another day’s schedule out the window.
Stay on Course Despite the Storm
It is easy to feel overwhelmed when life throws a storm at you.
A good dose of sleep deprivation has a way of magnifying the problems.
There are times when we all feel a little like the Andrea Gail from the movie The Perfect Storm, in that final inevitable scene where the little fishing boat is clawing and scraping her way up that giant steep wall of ocean water desperate just to make it over the top of one more wave.
Will we make it? Or will this be the wave that swamps and sinks us?
How do we stay on course despite the storm?
A Little Grace Required
Remember that scene in The Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo was running for his life because the black riders were chasing him?
Arwen was tending him just after the water had washed the black riders down stream. But Frodo was fading fast.
Arwen: Frodo? Frodo, no!
[Frodo begins to have a harder time breathing]
Arwen: Frodo, don’t give in! Not now!
[She holds Frodo close to her body and begins to cry]
Arwen: [voiceover] What Grace is given me, let it pass to him. Let him be spared. Save him.
There comes a time when we all need a little grace.
If you’ve ever spent anytime around AA folks you are probably familiar with the Serenity Prayer
God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things that should be changed,
And the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
How do we stay on course?
We focus on the things that you can change, not those we can’t.
- If we have obligations beyond our control, we accept them with serenity.
- Where changes can be made to better our situation, we exercise courage to make those changes come into reality.
- And we listen, watch and pay attention so that over time we learn which things are which.
Chris,
Good post! It seems to me that grace, serenity and courage may seem hard to find for many people in storms. Even God may seem distant.
I think that in each case it pays to persist. As we do, we see a track record of asking and seeing good things happen, or even failing, getting better and then eventually succeeding. This brings trust. Then we can ask for grace and … (insert the process you described).
Your post is timely. I’m still trying to get wiping the ocean off of me after what seemed like a perfect storm. No, not AA, just some really tough life stuff. I’ve made it a point to seek God on a daily basis, partly to know the way when the lights go out. I can attest that He is faithful, gives grace, serenity and courage in large quantities, and is lavish in His love for us.
Thanks for the post, Chris. It is very encouraging.
Chris,
I always wondered why the guys in the Andrea Gail didn’t turn the boat around and take their chances going with the waves. I guess they hadn’t internalized the Serenity Prayer.
This is top notch writing. Thank you, and keep it up!
Mike
Hey Tariq, Glad I could be an encouragement. And you are on to something. Even Napoleon said
Mike, It is a principle of the sea that vessels are much less likely to capsize when they take waves along their length rather than across their width.
The Andrea Gail was 20′ wide and nearly 60′ long. The last radio transmission from the vessel indicated they were in 30′ swells, which would not be fun, but probably wouldn’t have normally endangered the vessel.
The captain indicated in his transmission that he expected conditions to get worse.
The Canadian weather folks measured peak wave hight throughout the period when she disappeared at 60′.
We don’t know why she sank. But it probably happened quickly because there was no distress call picked up.
One reasonable theory is that they encountered a rogue wave significantly larger than the measured 60′ers and big enough to pitch-pull her (flip her on her back end-wise) and sinking her. It would have been a rare thing, but not unheard of. And not much you can do if you encounter it.
That’s the explanation they used in the movie.
The captain chose to stay out in the storm. The sea is very unforgiving of some mistakes.
“Courage to change the things that should be changed”
Like finding light at the end of a very long and very dark tunnel. Just when you’re left breathless by the dark nature of the jouney, there is that bright light. And the light is no accident!
“Victory belongs to the most persevering” Amen.
I read the “Perfect Storm”, but could not bring myself to see the movie. Being a sailor, the big screen rendition might have compromised my relationship with the sea, (otherwise described as a deep horror of rogue waves). It’s the “what if” syndrome that clings to you like seaweed everytime you point into the wind and hoist the mainsail. Also, Maine is legendary for it’s fog banks. That alone is enough to worry about.
I agree with Mike: Chris, this is top notch writing!
Do you read minds? Sometimes your posts are just what the Doctor ordered.
No, Sherry. My wife will vouch for the fact that I am decidedly inept at the art of mind reading! Generally I don’t have a clue what someone else is thinking.
I just deal with life where I’m at. (It’s not good grammar, but I’m sticking with that sentence.)
The rest is just gravy.
Its people like YOU, Chris, that allow organizations to continue and to flourish. Accepting the things you can change AND those you cannot. A fine post – thank you
Bob
Congrats on blog-of-the-day @ fuelmyblog!
Chris, first, let me echo everyone that says this is great writing. This is great writing.
My problem is that I think everything is within my power to change–or at least to help change.
You say to listen and pay attention so we learn the difference between the things we can control and the things we can’t. But I’d rather persevere until everything I want to change gets changed.
Nice philosophical post! I’ll be thinking about it for a bit.
Hey, Bob! You made my day. It’s so stormy in my little world I hadn’t noticed where we stood on FuelMyBlog. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
And for those of you who don’t know what we’re talking about there is a “Vote for me” button in the left side bar which anyone can click as often as once a day to, well, to vote for me. It’s the one that looks like this:
Mark, I think we do have the ability to influence much that goes on around us. But I also believe that there are times when the best option is to drop back and punt.
The older I get the less in control I find I really am. I can cling to that illusion of control, but it gets pretty frustrating.
Whelp, we all have to deal with life where we’re at. And if where we’re at is not so terrific, we have to determine if (1)can it be changed, and then (2)change it. Sounds simple enough, but this process can take a very long time. I’ve found that blogging can significantly change certain things, only I just found that out, a few months ago? However, I’m still learning and blogging about it.
BTW Chris, Linda Greenlaw of Isle au Haut, Maine and captain of the Andrea Gail’s sister ship “Hannah Boden” was the last person in contact with the Andrea Gail’s doomed crew. She has written a book entitled “The Hungry Ocean”….very good read. Linda Greenlaw is also a nice, approachable person and I suspect to this day, is haunted by the fact that she could do nothing.
Certain things cannot be changed…
I never liked punting. I think I’d rather fall on my sword. Or go down in a blaze of glory. : )
I’m kidding. It’s just that whole wisdom thing. I wish I had it. Thanks for all you do here on this blog–maybe I’ll gather some by osmosis just by continuing to hang around and read stuff here.
Mark, you make me laugh.
Keep at it, and great post. I’m curious though, what sort of job calls you at 1:30 AM?