Navigating the Rough Seas

 Navigating the Rough Seas

"You can't surf with an anchor." Kelly Stephens M.D.

     Life will throw all of us some turbulent weather and most likely we are not going to drown - at least not right away.  It is the reliving of that same storm over and over that just might take its toll on us.  Here is the problem so many of us face: floods of memories and regrets - which I call stinkin' thinkin'!  However, it is like telling someone not to stress, and we all know that's easier said than done.  Regrets do have a purpose and I think it is crucial to understand and learn from them.  Regrets are a part of life and they hurt for a reason - so we will not repeat them!  Ah but more often than not we do.  Why?  Because we are in a pattern of behavior.  We perceive from past experience other peoples' behavior and patterns and we put them in roles, as well as ourselves.  When we put others in a role they have no power to take themselves out of that role, at least not in our mind's eye.  We imprison people all the time by our regret and memories of our turbulent weather in our relationship to that person!  "Bore Bore Bore, Life marches on Chelsea ; so I suggest you get on with it."  Katherine Hepburn  "On Golden Pond"  Great quote , great flick!  The premise of this movie is about this exact subject and the damage and lost time it cost those loved ones.  We all will have times we are hit off guard with waves of regret and sadness, but what we do with it is crucial.  Often when I lay down and rest eludes me it will hit out of nowhere.  This is not good. I'm tired, I'm vulnerable and now I'm sad and my mind is running!  If this doesn't  sound familiar be glad but if it does hang on and we will work through it.  We must understand and change what we are doing if we want to move on and we can only do that while we are living.  

Time in a Bottle

This is my example, but you can come up with your own method of noticeable change.  If you don't know who Jim Croce is, he was a singer in the 60's and 70's who sang the song "Time In A Bottle".

A song of regrets and heartache.  It went something like this.   "If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I'd like to do, is to save everyday like a treasure just to spend it with you.  If I could make days last forever... You get the drift.  I can't save time in a bottle but I can put my priorities on relationships!  Working on relationships is love, and God commanded us to "Love as I have Loved".  I have a bottle for each of my close relationships. It will receive a coin for every time I have spent time with that loved one on my initiative for the purpose of enjoying them!   OUCH!  I can tell you this is scary because it will show how little effort I put into my relationships and I bet I'm not alone.  Cell phones and texting are great tools with the potential to do great damage to relationships.  We substitute them all the time for quality time so in this case they do not count!  We are all busy but doing the same thing over and over is just stupid!  I must get out of my lazy comfort zone, pull up my anchor and learn to surf.  I want less regrets and more joy in my life and I'm the only one who can make that happen.  It will require sacrifices, it will change my lifestyle dramatically and it took some pretty regretful moments to come to this conclusion but... I can't wait to pull anchor, lift the burdens, release the prisoners and get on with my life! I hope this sparks a fire for someone else as well.  Is it well with your soul?

     Heavenly Father please jolt us out of our spirit of business comfort zone before it is too late and all we have left is regret.  Refocus our hearts on loving others as you have loved.  Thank you for the new hearts and understanding you have given to those who believe so we may be lights in a dark world.    In Your name I pray  Amen

                                                                                                              Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)