Sailing Along
“And remember that I am with you always, to the end of the age” - Matthew 28:20
For a period of my childhood (about age 9 to 13) my family lived in a small community named Colchester, Ontario. Colchester lies on the north shore of Lake Erie is approximately 10 miles west of Point Pelee National Park. The house that my family lived in was on the lake and I could see Point Pelee from the front windows. This home was an excellent place for a boy to grow up! Swimming in the summer, ice skating on the lake in the winter and all kinds of other adventures to get into! One such adventure occurred on a cold and windy winter day. It was late in the winter, the ice had been skated upon to the point that some other activity was desired and today was just the day for a new adventure!
My two friends and I decided that it would be a great idea (without our parents’ permission or knowledge of course) to skate to Point Pelee. As we began to make preparations, I realized that with the stiff wind out of the west, we could fashion some type of sails and use the wind to propel us on our journey (remember I was about 11 years old and still in need of learning some important life lessons!). So before long we were off – the wind serving to drive us to our destination with little effort on our parts. Soon we arrived with great exhilaration and a profound sense of joy and accomplishment. We had done it!
All too soon it was time to begin the trek home. The stiff wind out of the west no longer served to propel onward, instead we fought the wind in our faces the entire way home. The journey, no longer fun and exciting but instead hard work and miserable was finally accomplished having taken 2 to 3 times longer than expected. Arriving home – cold, hungry, tired and facing angry parents who had discovered our absence proved to have “mixed blessings.” It was wonderful to be home even if our arrival led to discipline from my parents and not being allowed to skate for a week (although honestly, I didn’t really want to go near the ice for a while!).
In life, we sometimes face situations where it seems that we are just “sailing along” without any trouble or concern. Other times, it seems that no matter what we attempt, we feel as though we are meeting resistance and facing a “head wind” that only wants to push against us. During these times, we would to well to remember Jesus’ words in the last verse of Matthew:
During this Lenten season, I pray that you will remember the difficult times as well as the good times are always faced with the Loving Savior, Jesus along side of you.
Rev. Dr. Ray McGee
“And remember that I am with you always, to the end of the age” - Matthew 28:20
For a period of my childhood (about age 9 to 13) my family lived in a small community named Colchester, Ontario. Colchester lies on the north shore of Lake Erie is approximately 10 miles west of Point Pelee National Park. The house that my family lived in was on the lake and I could see Point Pelee from the front windows. This home was an excellent place for a boy to grow up! Swimming in the summer, ice skating on the lake in the winter and all kinds of other adventures to get into! One such adventure occurred on a cold and windy winter day. It was late in the winter, the ice had been skated upon to the point that some other activity was desired and today was just the day for a new adventure!
My two friends and I decided that it would be a great idea (without our parents’ permission or knowledge of course) to skate to Point Pelee. As we began to make preparations, I realized that with the stiff wind out of the west, we could fashion some type of sails and use the wind to propel us on our journey (remember I was about 11 years old and still in need of learning some important life lessons!). So before long we were off – the wind serving to drive us to our destination with little effort on our parts. Soon we arrived with great exhilaration and a profound sense of joy and accomplishment. We had done it!
All too soon it was time to begin the trek home. The stiff wind out of the west no longer served to propel onward, instead we fought the wind in our faces the entire way home. The journey, no longer fun and exciting but instead hard work and miserable was finally accomplished having taken 2 to 3 times longer than expected. Arriving home – cold, hungry, tired and facing angry parents who had discovered our absence proved to have “mixed blessings.” It was wonderful to be home even if our arrival led to discipline from my parents and not being allowed to skate for a week (although honestly, I didn’t really want to go near the ice for a while!).
In life, we sometimes face situations where it seems that we are just “sailing along” without any trouble or concern. Other times, it seems that no matter what we attempt, we feel as though we are meeting resistance and facing a “head wind” that only wants to push against us. During these times, we would to well to remember Jesus’ words in the last verse of Matthew:
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
During this Lenten season, I pray that you will remember the difficult times as well as the good times are always faced with the Loving Savior, Jesus along side of you.
Rev. Dr. Ray McGee
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