July 29th
What's On Your Hull?
I have sometimes seen over on the coast of California ships that have been hosted on land for repair of some sort. On a smaller vessel I recall seeing large barnacles. They had to be scraped off.
Obviously that is extremely important. Too bad those in charge of the ship Albatross did not know that. We're talking more than a half century ago when the Albatross sailed from an Atlantic port bound for the coast of Africa.
"She will never make it," said an old sailor on the pier. "Why?" asked a bystander. "She seemed to me to be a well-built vessel." "Here is what I found on the hull." He held out his hand and showed a soft tiny mass, a lump of jelly like within a shell. "What harm could they do?" "It is not harmless, this so called half-dead creature will eat into the soundest hull ever built and leave it a rotten hull."
At the end of a year from that time the Albatross was reported to have sprung a leak, and sunk.
So, on my ship in which I live, I ask myself, "What are some of the barnacles that I need to remove for successful sailing on my rough sea?" I would have you ask the same question to yourself.
I am afraid that we will find that we let GROW certain "barnacles" on our ship when we GO THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. What that does is to actually make the situation worst. As real barnacles can eat their way through sound oak timbers and bring ruin, so can malice, anger, distrust, jealousy, "Why me" attitude and lack of trust sink us. David said, (Psalm 51:10)
"Create in me a clean heart (I'll add hull) oh Lord."My prayer for you:
Lord, it is so true that we color our situation by happenings in our life. I ask, in the name of Jesus, that this one make clean their life. May they receive your forgiveness of the "sins that so easily beset" so they can be safe and sound.
Amen