A little boy made himself a boat, and off to the lake he went to sail it. The slight breeze was in the wrong direction, however, and soon the little boat was beyond the boy’s reach. In his distress he appealed to a teenage lad standing by for help. Without a word, the older boy picked up some rocks and suddenly started throwing them at the boat. At first, the little boy was shocked that the older lad would do such a thing. Then he noticed that every rock which sailed over the tiny boat made a little wave which surely and certainly moved the toy boat back to shore. Soon the little guy was happy again with his toy in his possession.
When Brittany fisherman launch their boats into the seas, we are told they utter a simple prayer: “Keep me safe, my God. My boat is small and the ocean is wide.” As you sail upon the sea of life, you have no reason to fear if, indeed, God is your Guide. Though you may not know where your boat is sailing, though it may pass through joy and grief, through trials and tasks which seem insurmountable, and though sometimes it seems life is “out of reach,” still, if God is our Helper, we will make it safely to shore. Indeed, the waves which beat against our boat serve to draw us nearer to God and the safety of the shore. “Thou rulest the raging of the sea; when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.” (Psalm 89)
Borrowed