Ebbs & Flows
It is hard to believe that this is the last week for Chris and I aboard the Africa Mercy, as our 3 months here draws to a close, it has been an incredible adventure and a privilege to serve in a community dedicated to 'bringing Hope & Healing to the World's Forgotten Poor'.
One of my favourite places on-board (other than seeing the crew singing and dancing with the patients in the hospital) is the pool deck.
The pool has been a great place to relax and have my quiet time and due to the pool moving with the motion of the ocean it sounds like lapping waves. However, when swimming I would feel as if I were swimming against the tide, it was so difficult and I felt that I was making no progress, then, all of a sudden, the wave would catapult me along to the other end! It would make me laugh every time as I never knew when the big 'push' would come.
Our spiritual journey and day to day life is a series of ebbs and flows or high tides and low tides.
While Chris' time here has been 'plain sailing', my first 2 months were tough due to a shortage of staff in my department and shift-work. Even on weekends as Chris said 'Good morning' I said 'Goodnight' – we were like ships that passed in the night, however, just because we don't feel God in the 'low tide' places, it doesn't mean He is not there! A verse the Lord kept bringing to mind and that I meditated on was a Psalm of David:
"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters………….. he brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." Psalm 18:19 [NIV]
David was a praying man and God is found in prayer. If you feel as if you are swimming against the tide right now, ask God to bring you into a 'spacious place'. Reminders of His love for us and His hand on our lives provides opportunities for us to breathe freely until God turns the tide.
Dawn Milward
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