When I was a child I absolutely loved the books about the “Sailor Dog”. The pictures were delightfully imaginative and the artwork was great fun. Recently I was going through yet another mound of stuff from our recent move and I came across this gem. My husband had rescued quite a few of the illustrations from the original book and had them framed, but he had missed this one. This picture is now sitting on my desk in direct line of sight. Many times in the past several years I have felt like the Sailor Dog: my ship ended up stuck on an unmovable obstruction and leaky holes have abounded. My anchor has not been in place and I have felt on my own. Have you ever felt that way?
Often, I have evaluated where I have landed and I have not felt good about it at all. There are often no bells and whistles in my daily work life and there can be a great deal of stress from impossible expectations. Maybe some of you are overachievers like me. For us, not to meet the expectations of others can be a great humbling blow. It has often brought me to me knees.
The grace of God is usually exhibited when I am at my weakest, feeling unable to help anyone. I remember a week when I felt I was a loser. As the week progressed I had a conversation from a dear friend whose daughter had lost her sense of purpose, I had an email from a mother who was drowning in motherhood, a conversation with a friend who was struggling with a possible change of career which would cause a lot of ripple effects, a friend who was at wits end over a combative spouse, and another friend whose daughter was in the third year of a debilitating illness. I was unable to “fix” anyone.
Believe it or not, all of these encounters were exactly what I personally needed. It caused me to stop feeling sorry for myself and to get into the thick of God’s path for my week. God gave me exactly the right words and actions to do the job He has entrusted me with more than any other career in my life: the work of an Encourager. Lots of thought and prayers went into the conversations and emails that ensued. I am an incessant reader and God brought wonderful quotes and articles which exactly fit the needs of my friends. It turned out to be a really successful week – not in any way according to the standards of many people, but according to God’s bigger world, it was absolutely wonderful. All the time I thought I was the Sailor Dog pounding away trying to fix my leaky boat, but God had a much bigger plan for my week. Cool beans!!! So, what plan does God have for your week, your month, your life? Maybe God wants you to start looking around at the other leaky boats and to lend a hand?