Sojourn: A Temporary Stay

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

(1 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV)

The Intuition Diaries

As we travelled from port to port, we would either rent a transient slip (a boat “campsite” at a marina, assigned to those passing through) or we anchored out.

Upon arriving in the Door County area, we chose to anchor out near Sturgeon Bay, WI. We had a pleasant morning puttering our way up the coast of Wisconsin. We stopped in Kewaunee to use the post office and pick up a few groceries. We used their public dock and literally had to climb up to get on solid ground.

 

 

It was a quaint, quiet town with a very slow pace. Two things happened there that made us smile. Outside the post office we saw a man run the lawn mower up the sidewalk, while it was running. We had no idea why he did it, but he did. The postmaster was a hoot as well, whenever I made a comment, he would say, “You’re probably right.”

 I thanked him for being so agreeable.

We left there, and headed to the canal that cuts through the Door County peninsula via Sturgeon Bay. There we were greeted by a light that marked the canal. We stopped for gas and ice at one of the marinas along the canal. We were marked by peace and settling into this pace of travelling by boat with the expectations of more adventures and relaxation ahead.

 

With all the beauty around us, you’d think it would be hard to become discouraged, but even on vacation we faced “light and momentary troubles.”

Last night after we anchored out in a very picturesque cove, named Sawyer Bay, we were accosted by flies. The stillness invited the flies to swarm around our boat. I had brought along a handy all-natural fly contraption to catch them. It had some debris in the bottom, so I thought I’d just dump it in the lake. In doing so, I dropped the plastic container. In my desire to rid myself of pesky flies, I jumped into the lake to make a rescue effort. In my haste, I forgot that I had my glasses on my head. The impact of my kersplash into the lake caused me to lose both the container and my glasses.

We looked and looked for the glasses. I waded around in the three feet of weedy terrain under the water to feel for the glasses with my feet. I cried and cried because of my foolish attempt to rescue a plastic container. I went to bed discouraged.

 

But joy comes in the morning.  (A good cup of coffee and the rising of the sun reminded me that God is good, even if I am foolish.)

Temporary upsets cannot outweigh the Presence of God in our lives. He never leaves or forsakes us, even when we temporarily lose our common sense.

I never found the glasses, but I did find out that God loves me despite my reckless attempts to rescue something that I really could live without. The flies still pestered us, I never found the glasses, and I cried myself to sleep, yet in the morning I was still able to rejoice in God and his goodness.

I did have contact lens with me, but somehow after this experience I felt like I had clearer vision, as result of losing the eyeglasses.