The ship builder
I guess I have some explaining to do as to why I have not posted in almost 2 years. The short answer is this is my travel blog, meant to keep people updated on my thoughts while traveling. The truth is it’s been a really tough two years. I guess I could blame my schedule or the hectic life that accompanies having a career and young children, but the truth lies deeper. The truth is I have not been posting because I was afraid of what I would post. The past two years have been harsh on my faith. Less than a month after my last Africa trip we moved to Texas to start a new ministry. Two days after we arrived my youngest son Luke grew gravely ill. Three months later I would be driving behind an ambulance that carried him across Ft. Worth begging God to let him live. Two weeks after that I would help a coworker burry his teenage son who was taken from him in an unforgettable moment of pain. At that point I had only been in this new ministry for 4 months.
But every dark night spent staring into the abyss is followed by a glorious morning for we follow a God that is “new every morning”. So why didn’t I write about it in my blog. Simple. I could not see clearly. A story comes to mind that might help you understand it.
There once was a small boy who lived in a village by the sea. Every day the young boy would go down to the docks to watch ships be built. Sometimes he would close his eyes and imagine where the ships would go. As the ships where prepared and loaded their cargo and riches his heart would dream of distant lands and far off shores. One day when the boy was standing on the dock watching the ship builders an old man came and stood next to him.
“What are you doing here lad?” he asked
“Watching the shipbuilders prepare for far off lands” the boy replied
“A boy your age should not be watching but doing” The man replied
As the boy looked down at his feet he almost cried and said “How can I if no one will teach me?”
“I will teach you” said the man with great patience.
Looking at him the boys heart leapt for the old man was a master craftmen. Immediately they started working. The hours turned into days, the days, weeks, and the week, months. Sometimes the boy would work long into the night building a glorious ship, ready to sail the roughest seas and weather the wildest storms. Often the old man and the boy would take a break under an old tree and talk about ships. It seemed no aspect of sailing or ship building had slipped by the old man and he taught the boy much. Over time the young boy turned into a young man as the long hours in the shipyard honed his muscles and strengthened his back.
One day the old man approached the young man with a quiet and determined look. The old man explained to the him that it was time to finish the inside of the ship. The young man not knowing why the old man was sad asked why this was such a big deal.
“Well, you see the inside of the ship must be finished by you. You will have to crawl down below the deck and do the work by yourself. I will not be able to help you. “
Looking down at his feet the young man was sad, for he had grown to deeply love spending time with the old craftsman.
“Who will guide me?” he asked in a small voice.
“I will” replied the old man
“How will you guide me if you are not below with me?”
“I will be with you. I will be with you because I have taught you. Every skill I taught you, every tool I gave you, every experience I gave you will be with you.”
“Where will you be?” asked the young man
“I will be hear finishing the rest of the boat and when you finish your work, we will join up again”
It was with a heavy heart that the young man took his tools below deck. At first he could not see anything as his eyes adjusted to the light. The dark hull cut him off from the sights and sounds of the shipbuilders around him. Several times he could not even hear the master shipbuilder above him working. The hours turned into days the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Sometimes the darkness would be so overwhelming the young man would panic and call out for the shipbuilder. Every time he called the shipbuilder would call back to the young man assuring him he had not left. Finally after working in the dark for months the young man finished his work and climbed out of the hull a new man. When he got on deck he could not believe his eyes. His simple, small ship was now a beautiful strong boat complete with all the necessary tools to sail into distant shores and conquer new lands. The old man had used all of his might to transform the ship into something the new man could never build. The new man was overwhelmed when he looked up to the wheel and saw the old man standing proudly. Running up to the old man the new man shouted with excitement.
“What happened?”
“While you were doing the important work down below I finished the boat” replied the old man proudly
“But why did you not wait for me” the new man asked with confusion “While I could not have built anything this great I could have helped” the new man said
Looking at the new man with love in his eyes the old craftsman reached out and touched his shoulder. After months of pain the new man blurted out…”and why did you leave me alone? It was so dark in the hull of the ship”
Taking him by the chin the old man looked deep into the new mans eyes.
“You had to build what is unseen by yourself so I could build what is seen. You see I can do things with my tools that you cannot. While you where building that which lies below I was building that which lies above.”
Instantly the new man knew he was right. The work below was hard and dark, but necessary. As much as the new man wanted to help finish the ship he knew that the glorious ship could only be built by the master craftsman. Looking up he noticed for the first time that they were not in the shipyards any more but where instead sailing on the most glorious blue sea. Looking to the old man with confusion in his eyes the boy began to weep. “Thank you” he muttered between the tears “thank you”
Sorry I have not been posting to my blog. I have been below deck doing some work.
But every dark night spent staring into the abyss is followed by a glorious morning for we follow a God that is “new every morning”. So why didn’t I write about it in my blog. Simple. I could not see clearly. A story comes to mind that might help you understand it.
There once was a small boy who lived in a village by the sea. Every day the young boy would go down to the docks to watch ships be built. Sometimes he would close his eyes and imagine where the ships would go. As the ships where prepared and loaded their cargo and riches his heart would dream of distant lands and far off shores. One day when the boy was standing on the dock watching the ship builders an old man came and stood next to him.
“What are you doing here lad?” he asked
“Watching the shipbuilders prepare for far off lands” the boy replied
“A boy your age should not be watching but doing” The man replied
As the boy looked down at his feet he almost cried and said “How can I if no one will teach me?”
“I will teach you” said the man with great patience.
Looking at him the boys heart leapt for the old man was a master craftmen. Immediately they started working. The hours turned into days, the days, weeks, and the week, months. Sometimes the boy would work long into the night building a glorious ship, ready to sail the roughest seas and weather the wildest storms. Often the old man and the boy would take a break under an old tree and talk about ships. It seemed no aspect of sailing or ship building had slipped by the old man and he taught the boy much. Over time the young boy turned into a young man as the long hours in the shipyard honed his muscles and strengthened his back.
One day the old man approached the young man with a quiet and determined look. The old man explained to the him that it was time to finish the inside of the ship. The young man not knowing why the old man was sad asked why this was such a big deal.
“Well, you see the inside of the ship must be finished by you. You will have to crawl down below the deck and do the work by yourself. I will not be able to help you. “
Looking down at his feet the young man was sad, for he had grown to deeply love spending time with the old craftsman.
“Who will guide me?” he asked in a small voice.
“I will” replied the old man
“How will you guide me if you are not below with me?”
“I will be with you. I will be with you because I have taught you. Every skill I taught you, every tool I gave you, every experience I gave you will be with you.”
“Where will you be?” asked the young man
“I will be hear finishing the rest of the boat and when you finish your work, we will join up again”
It was with a heavy heart that the young man took his tools below deck. At first he could not see anything as his eyes adjusted to the light. The dark hull cut him off from the sights and sounds of the shipbuilders around him. Several times he could not even hear the master shipbuilder above him working. The hours turned into days the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Sometimes the darkness would be so overwhelming the young man would panic and call out for the shipbuilder. Every time he called the shipbuilder would call back to the young man assuring him he had not left. Finally after working in the dark for months the young man finished his work and climbed out of the hull a new man. When he got on deck he could not believe his eyes. His simple, small ship was now a beautiful strong boat complete with all the necessary tools to sail into distant shores and conquer new lands. The old man had used all of his might to transform the ship into something the new man could never build. The new man was overwhelmed when he looked up to the wheel and saw the old man standing proudly. Running up to the old man the new man shouted with excitement.
“What happened?”
“While you were doing the important work down below I finished the boat” replied the old man proudly
“But why did you not wait for me” the new man asked with confusion “While I could not have built anything this great I could have helped” the new man said
Looking at the new man with love in his eyes the old craftsman reached out and touched his shoulder. After months of pain the new man blurted out…”and why did you leave me alone? It was so dark in the hull of the ship”
Taking him by the chin the old man looked deep into the new mans eyes.
“You had to build what is unseen by yourself so I could build what is seen. You see I can do things with my tools that you cannot. While you where building that which lies below I was building that which lies above.”
Instantly the new man knew he was right. The work below was hard and dark, but necessary. As much as the new man wanted to help finish the ship he knew that the glorious ship could only be built by the master craftsman. Looking up he noticed for the first time that they were not in the shipyards any more but where instead sailing on the most glorious blue sea. Looking to the old man with confusion in his eyes the boy began to weep. “Thank you” he muttered between the tears “thank you”
Sorry I have not been posting to my blog. I have been below deck doing some work.
posted by Paul at Wednesday, October 01, 2008
1 Comments:
Our thoughts and prayers are with you as always Paul. I'm so proud of you.
Love
Uncle Chuck
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