next up previous
Next: Give up the non-essentials Up: Hope, illustrated by Paul Previous: Hope, illustrated by Paul

When things go wrong

Then the very next verse, v 14, starts with that ominous word: ``But''. But what? This is the part they had not counted on -- a bad storm, Euroclydon, somewhat akin to what sailors in the New England fisheries call a ``Nor'Easter''. This is a severe winter storm that can last for many days.

In our lives here on earth, we all experience situations where things do not work out the way we wanted them to. The men on this ship could no longer head in the direction they wanted to. We sometimes find ourselves up to our ears in the proverbial alligators, and fight so much with them that we all but forget that our original goal was to drain the swamp. So it was with these sailors. They could no longer head in the direction they wanted to go, but were driven by the wind in a different direction. While their initial goal had been to reach a particular port, now all they wanted to do was stay afloat.



Robert J. Brown
2000-11-22