Seafaring Imagery

"You are leaving port under sealed orders and in a troubled period.

You cannot know whither you are going or what you are to do. But why not take the Pilot on board who knows the nature of your sealed orders from the outset, and who will shape your entire voyage accordingly? He knows the shoals and the sandbanks, the rocks and the reefs, He will steer you safely into that celestial harbor where your anchor will be cast for eternity. Let His mighty nail-pierced hands hold the wheel, and you will be safe."  

  - Peter Marshall (1902-1949), "John Doe, Disciple: sermons for the young in spirit"

I loved reading about Peter Marshall in his wife, Catherine's, books. He sounded like a man of conscience, a loving and good man, and a trustworthy pastor.

His seafaring imagery appeals to me, though I don't interpret "you will be safe" to mean what it once meant, to me. It no longer promises, You will be protected from danger, storms will not arise and bad things will not happen to you. It now indicates something like, You will have guidance, you will have help, whatever may come.

Reading the words, "He will steer you safely into that celestial harbor where your anchor will be cast for eternity" suggests to me that I am going that place, with His guidance - no matter what happens between now and then. God's love for me, His act of creating me, and my love for God assure me that I am His. He will take me home, eventually. Until then, I am here in my temporary home, to learn what He has to teach me and to be prepared for my eternal home. Katie is there, now; how passionately I look forward to seeing her! We walked her home, and my heart tells me that now, she is waiting for us there. She told me that it would be so, just days before she died; I am counting on it.