Rocking and Rolling
On a recent morning a tiny insect crawled on a petal of my yellow rosebush. Only three roses had opened, but dozens of buds were holding more petals tightly within their sepals. The wisdom of our God is in evidence everywhere — in our homes, just outside our backdoors, and in the great big beautiful world.
Though we don’t have to leave the spot where we are standing right now to see God’s wonders, the sea is one place to marvel at His wisdom. Psalm 107 describes the sea and what happens when people travel on it. Near the end of our recent trip, we received a written summary of the ports we had visited, the miles we had traveled, and the weather we had experienced. We always felt safe, but we did have some rocky moments — or should I say rolling moments? On the occasions when the ship was about to sway a bit from side to side, the captain sometimes warned us that we might experience some rolling — terminology that didn’t make me feel especially secure!
However, the captain and crew handled the big ship so well that I was surprised to learn from the summary that we had had two days when the winds were near gale force. However, there was one particular morning when we knew something was out of the ordinary — at least all of us who were in the buffet area.
On most days Ray and I had a small lunch on shore, dinner in the dining room, and breakfast in the buffet either a short time after or while we were arriving at a port. The buffet area was in the center of the 11th deck. Guests sat at tables near the windows on either side of a center kitchen and serving area. On that particular morning, Ray was sitting at our table on one side of the ship while I was walking around on the other side, looking for a spoon.
Suddenly the ship dipped ever so slightly to one side and dishes from the buffet area began falling to the floor and breaking into hundreds of pieces around our feet. Except for the surprise and the mess, the crew made it feel amazingly uneventful. They just started cleaning it up right where they were. A piece of a dish even hit my leg, but it didn’t even nick my leggings. As far as I could see, not one person was hurt. On the other side of the buffet, Ray stopped our dishes from falling off the table while the dishes on that serving side fell, not into the serving area, but into the kitchen.
Later in the cruise when our captain had a question and answer session for passengers, he was amused when one guest asked who pays for the broken dishes.
One evening, when Garth, Terry, Ray, and I were leaving the dining room, the ship was “rolling” so much that we had to hold on to hand rails to keep ourselves upright. This got Terry and me very tickled. Then, I was mortified, wondering if our fellow passengers thought there was another reason we were laughing and reeling after leaving the dining hall. They didn’t know we turned in our wine glasses every night unused. I guess I’ll think twice next time before I judge someone who is “rocking and rolling” when he comes out of a restaurant.
Our experience was not nearly as dramatic as that described in Psalm 107, but some scenes from our trip illustrate in a small way the work of God and man on the sea.
Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They rose up to the heavens,
they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
Psalm 107:23-32
We can trust the Master of the sea Who guides all who seek Him with all their hearts to their own desired haven — in His time. Sometimes it’s the waiting for His time that trips us up. As the senior minister told my younger minister husband many years ago, time is not our enemy it’s our friend. This is true because our God Who is in charge is trustworthy.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Thankful y’all survived your rocking and rolling. Thank you for also giving a new perspective to a term that doesn’t always have the best connotations. And giving scripture too! What a blessing.