If we look at all the different descriptors of glass, they all seem to fit with my character or personality, if you will.
Just like glass, I have the ability to protect or harm, help or hinder, and can be a 100% water resistant. If you think about it for a moment, it kind of makes sense.
For example, if one fills a glass bottle with air, it becomes unsinkable…
But, filling it with liquid causes the bottle to drop into the depths!
Glass can protect that which is within it, or drown it beneath the waves.
While others may not see it, I am not strong, at all! I suppose if glass had feelings, it might reflect that it can be strong if used properly. However, if one mishandles it, glass can shatter into a myriad of tiny pieces with only a pebble.
Guess what?! The repairs have been completed… all of them! Not only that but Creed made some upgrades and changes to the ship’s overall design, and I think you’ll like them…
Can you believe how many sails she’s got?
Not only did we get bigger and better sails, but that huge beam you see jutting out the front of the ship is much larger than the original. We needed it for the additional sails being added, and I guess it will also help us break through the waves better when we’re under full sail.
I know it might be hard to see him up there, but Squagon’s already claimed the crows nest! He looks so tiny doesn’t he?
Anyways, now that the ship’s had all these upgrades and improvements, it’s a good thing that we named her because she’s a lovely sight…
Problem #1 – where do we put the name? Creed did such beautiful work on the details, I don’t think I want to paint anything on the wood. It’s been weather sealed and then stained such a beautiful rich brown, I don’t have the heart to tarnish it with some gaudy paint job, ya know what I mean? We could put it on the sails somewhere, but I think I’d want to sew it on like a patch or something… the paint will just wash away after the first good storm. Now that I think about it, maybe it’s not such a good idea to put anything on the sails. Whatever we decide on, I think we should put it somewhere on the front, don’t you?
Problem #2 – what materials can we use that won’t wash off, fall off or break, and won’t mar the beauty of the ship’s natural wood? Not long ago, my friend Lou Carver made me a large wooden spoon for our ship’s galley. It’s a beautiful spoon, carefully treated, carved, and then soaked in oils… I am blessed to have it! It’s just lovely!
This gave me an idea! What about something like this…
or…
Granted, these two pictures are just some quick ideas but I think you get the idea. I’ll try to come up with a selection of ideas for you to choose your favorite!
It’s a bit sad, really, because with our departure back out to sea, Creed will be heading back to the barnyard. With college classes keeping him busy, traveling abroad will have to wait. I did take some pictures of him, for framing. Want to see one?
You know how I mentioned being all alone on the beach, while all the babes went with Brutus back to the barn? Well, I wasn’t actually, actually alone… my bad! Eustace has been going back and forth between myself and the boat dock, where Creed’s been working on ship repairs.
When Brutus offered to take all the babes with him for a couple of days, Eustace gave a hard pass! The poor camel threw up all over the ship for the entire first week out to sea… motion sickness is a real thing, you guys! Not only did he not fancy air travel, but the idea of being hauled across the land dangling between the legs of a dragon!
So, ya, I got me a sunbathing partner who stole my sunglasses, and my beach towel… cheeky bugger!
Have a fantastic Wednesday and remember, I sure do love you! Hugs
It’s hard to have my ship up on blocks, leaving me to sit here on the beach… alone. Creed is busily working away on the ship, so I don’t wish to disturb him, and Brutus took all the babes and flew back to the barn. The big wide world is no place for them to simply wander about, what with man’s fear of anything they don’t recognize or understand.
Besides, I left some important maps back in my office desk that we’ll need, once the ship is seaworthy. Lilly knows where I keep them, so she’ll retrieve the maps along with several other things we’d left behind. Tilly wanted to visit young Henry and the rest of the babes simply wanted to go along for the dragon ride… always the adventurers, they are!
So, here I sit, all alone on the beach and wondering what to do with myself for the next several days. I don’t often spend time away from them for so long, but it’ll be good for me, right? Why do I find myself lonely? Will they miss me, at all? What if they need a break from me?
I’ve always felt like I was simply too much! Too much emotion, too loud, talks far too much, cries more than most, and lives a life that wears folks out! I crave affection far more than a person probably should, but I just miss human touch, that’s all! Watching someone’s eyes glaze over as I seek to fellowship with them is brutally painful! It happens with everyone I encounter, so it’s not new… but the pain of it is always real, fresh, and damaging.
I’ve sort of chosen to avoid engaging others now, not that there are that many to avoid. I’ve three daughters who are living their own lives, keeping me firmly placed on the outskirts of their hearts… my fault!
I’ve no church family that calls me their own… my fault!
I’ve a husband whom I love deeply, but has never even picked up a bible once, in all of our 19 years of marriage… my choice!
That was my list of obligated listeners. Not a very long list!
Fortunately, I have discovered that with God, I am never alone! He listens to my incessant chatter, my prayers, my raging, and my storytelling. He captures my tears, mends the hurt, and fills the empty! There is none that can compare, to the God who has walked with me all these years… through all the good, the bad, the hurt and the heartache. When I make mistakes, he forgives and helps me learn to grow from the lessons.
When absolutely everyone else simply shrugs their shoulders in frustration or irritation, at my cries for help or attempts at sharing my heart… He stays!
So, now you know what I’m planning to do with my time over the next few quiet days… spend it with the one who calls me His own.
We were all born with gifts, but only get one lifetime to use them. No one knows of their own departure date, so when you see an opportunity to use your gifts, don’t waste it!
Give as much love as you can, even when it hurts! No, this doesn’t have anything to do with allowing yourself to be used, abused, or discarded. It means giving of yourself without expecting anything in return… just do it for the sake of love.
Make the best use of your time, your life, your love, and yes, your might! Be the best version of who you are and to the best of your ability, because no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
If God gives you a gift and you don’t waste it, He will always bless the work of your hands. Why? Because He knows you to be a good steward of that which He bestows upon you!
Think in terms of a cup that has a leak in the bottom… not a major hole, nor unrepairable tear, but tiny little cracks in the bottom. Over time, the water slowly escapes through those tiny fractures. Or, better yet, think of a flower pot that has a hole in the bottom. When the plant is watered, if the water just sits in the bottom of the pot, it will destroy the roots of the flower. Thus, the need for the hole. Simply water the flower often enough to keep the soil moist, while letting the extra water drain off, allowing the soil to remain healthy and fertile.
You know me, always writing about rushing water and broken pottery.
Well, we did it! Don’t ask me how, because the main mast snapped five miles offshore, nearly flipping the ship on her side. Thank the good Lord, the ship righted herself, though the entire main sail sank into the sea. Another blessing was the free tow into land we were given by a nearby vessel. They’d seen the whole thing and rushed into give aid… Sailors are some of the nicest folk you’ll ever meet!
Anyways, the ship was pulled up onto shore. ..
The damage from that snapped pole was extensive! It caused two other beams to splinter, tearing through most of the other sails. That wouldn’t have been so bad, in and of itself, but when everything crashed over the side of the ship, it ripped all the side railing off and tore into the actual frame of the ship. Honestly, looking at the ship from dockside makes me glad to have made it to land, at all!
While I’m quite sad at how much damage was sustained, there were two huge pluses in all of this mess. The first huge plus was the fact that I’d already sent Brutus and the babes off in the little dingy, to land further up the coast. With the ship up on poles, along with scads of workers climbing in and out of it, there’d be no way to hide anybody. Something told me to send them on ahead. Thank Goodness for small favors, lord!
The second huge plus was the surprise that had been waiting for me on the dock…
You guessed it! Creed was standing there smiling at me as I climbed off the ship, like he’d been expecting my arrival. How on earth did the man do that? He always seems to know when I need him the most. Love is such a funny thing, always showing up in ways we never saw coming.
Oh! I think that I’ve settled on a name for our ship. How does “The Torrent” sound for our soon-to-be seaworthy vessel? With Creed in charge of the repairs, she’ll be right as rain in no time!
56 years of being the last one on the list, the one at the end of the line, or the stand-by friend has done it’s damage. You know what they say about the truth of things… If everyone else in the room disagrees with you, then it must be you that’s wrong. Personally, I think that adage stinks like a bag of rotten eggs!
I’ve simply decided that I want to go home, I don’t really like it here anymore. I’m on an adventure of faith… the faith that my heavenly home is being prepared for me, as I speak! There shall be NO security upon this broken and fallen world… not for me! I’m going home! This world is just a process I have to get through to reach my destiny… Home!
I am a woman of God, a child of the Creator of the universe, and right now, I’m struggling with each and every passage in scripture… but I’m reading it anyway! Why? Because it’s not always about doing things only when you feel like it, that’s why.
The bible tells us that we will have troubles in this world because of Him, but we should still be encouraged because He did all the heavy lifting, long ago. He has made a way home for us, but we need to follow that path if we really wish to get there.
In my mind, that’s a fairly big adventure! I’m on my way home one day at a time, for only God knows my arrival time. I get to choose how I get there, though. I suppose that I could just give up and wait for my own departure, like a petulant little girl. Or, I can do it with grace, keeping a smile on my face, praise on my lips, and hope in my heart.
I’m going with the hope of heaven, rather than the cry baby part. I really do get sick of hearing myself complain, so instead, I write strange and wonderful adventurous stories of myself and my imaginary friends. We fill our days with adventures that I shall never do, travel to exotic lands that I’ll never visit, and be the hero that I’ll never really be. These are my adventure in search of security! Anyone is welcome aboard this vessel, if you so choose to join us. Adventures are always more fun with friends, wouldn’t you agree?
Journey With Me! 