Awash in Blue Water

Awash in Blue Water

In the film, Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, she was renamed the HMS Surprise. When Lester sailed aboard her as cook, she was named the HMS Rose — that is her real name. This replica of an 18^th century British frigate, 189 feet overall with a 130 foot mast, was built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. She’s a large vessel unless very large seas make her feel small.

Crashing 15–foot storm–seas pitched, rolled, tossed, and heaved this ship, sometimes all at once. Below deck, Lester was cooking dinner in the tiny galley, breathing the wafting diesel fuel. It was unpleasant. Her decks were awash. Her hatches were locked. The ship, heeling on her rail, raced through the water. The Rose wasn’t the only thing heaving. Half the crew didn’t have their sea legs, and neither did the cook. When the urge overtook Lester, he’d work his way topside, entwine himself in the safety lines, and as the flooding sea washed over him, threatening to drag him off, he’d complete his business, and then head below again. The seas were big, and the ship, and Lester and the crew, seemed so small.

Sometimes we might feel sick to our souls, as if there’s nothing to cling to when the seas of life pound on us, soak us cold to the bone, and threaten to drag us over the side. In times like those, we cling to the lifelines around us – family, friends, work, and faith.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, this life You’ve given us –– with its sudden and overwhelming storms –– can sometimes be too much for us. We cling to You and pray to survive. Amen.

Today’s Thought Is: Entwine your soul in the lines that are eternal.