From the Helm – Sunday, November 15, 2009
- The AMOR/Lori is well on her way back to water. I’m hoping she will be in operation by Christmas.
- The trips for December and January are set to go. I will be headed down on December 18th to oversee the preparations. We still have some room if anyone feeing led to join. We need to know soon so that documentation may be completed for entry in to the Reservation. This is a highly restricted area… The first of our teams will arrive early on the 26th. I’m looking forward to all God has for us to see and experience as we cruise the waters of the Wai-Wai’s. I look forward to the days leading up to the days, as well.
- Due to scheduling problems (mostly me), our annual AMOR meeting in Kentucky will not take place until late January, 2010. I am now working on our 2009 ANNUAL REPORT, to be printed and mailed prior to my December departure for the Valley.
- This week, several people have come to me truly baffled by the circumstances of their lives. This has caused me to more purposefully ponder the profound simplicity of God’s truths. I’m grateful for these opportunities and the hope and assurance it produces in my own life.
Trials, challenges and difficulties. To me, theses are all words used to define more a state of mind than things physical and tangible. They reflect the result of my asking “why” instead of seeking wisdom, comfort and guidance through a time or event that has blindsided me. To the question “why”, there is rarely a reasonably satisfactory answer anyway.
When I begin this questioning, I set in motion a strange and futile phenomenon - that of trying to assign responsibility and reason to things I fear or don’t fully understand. This is fueled (and maybe even birthed) by my unwillingness to accept people, places and things as they are and naturally occur. Add to this fuel the determination to fix or alter these elements to be rid of the said “trial”, I’ve created the perfect recipe for chaos, conflict and sustained misery in my own life.
Spiritual growth comes largely by means of these potentially troubling events and times in our lives. Growth can come quickly, through accepting our inability to overcome and humbly seeking God’s will and strength in the matter. Or, the process can be lengthy in nature, producing unnecessary complications due to stubborn denial and rebellion (acts of our self-will). The saddest scenario of all, however, is when we refuse to surrender, making growth impossible. This course of action leads to self-inflicted emotional and spiritual wounds that develop in to scarred character through the actions we take – a seemingly relentless cycle of insecurity, anger, hopelessness and remorse.
For many years, due to my own pride and ego, refusal to grow was the only option I’d left open to myself. I truly did suffer many trials and challenges, ultimately failing miserably at every turn. I took all things personally – any ripple in my stream of things was viewed as a threat. Acting as author of my own peace of mind, I invariably found none at all.
A moment of clarity God granted me some years ago was the beginning of life as I know it today. In a moment, I profoundly understood that I was helpless in this world and in life itself. I was incapable of producing anything to insure my physical, spiritual and emotional survival. It was at that moment I asked of God the only thing He ever required of me, “God, help me…”
All any of us need do in order to begin life is seek the God who created it all and knows our fit in the mix. In this initial, desperate act of helpless seeking comes the small amount of humility needed to accept His ways instead of our own, if only for the day.
This continued seeking of His ways has led me to the greatest gift and “secret” of successful living I know – continued surrender leads to the peace of mind and spirit I’ve always desired. Knowledge of His will for me and His available power to carry on in the direction He reveals is all I need and should desire. If all I seek is His will for me, my actions will lead to His desired ends. Anything else is but futility of thought and action.
Today, I crave His presence, care and comfort. I live in His providence, grace and mercy. I do this because I’ve come from the absence of such things and desire never to return to such a place. Lord, I pray those who now find themselves overwhelmed by Your absence, will humbly seek You presence. If I’m to be of any help in the matter, I stand ready.
You know, it’s funny the truths I’ve spent 6 or 7 hundred words elaborating on are simply stated in scripture in just 5 short words: “Seek and ye shall find” What a deal, indeed…