Accept: Recognize Something as True

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

 

James 1:16, 17

 

Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it
all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

 

The Intuition Diaries

During every vacation there comes a point, when you have to recognize something as true. As we listened to the weather report on Saturday evening, we had to face a hard truth.  The winds were going to be picking up. We would be facing 5-8 ft waves in a couple days. We had a decision to make; we could stick with our plan to stop at a couple more places along the Upper Peninsula or outrun the wind. We went to bed knowing, we had to pass up the extra stops.

After we left Escanaba, the first twenty miles were smooth sailing. And then the lake got a bit choppy, so I put on my earphones and listened to music while sitting on the back of the boat. I put my feet up on the side and watched the waves sail by. We were headed east and the sun was behind some clouds, but still shining through. The water looked like molten metal. I had never seen anything like it.

As we approached our destination, we had another decision to make: to drop anchor or go to a marina. As most couples do, we came to our conclusion smoothly, about as smooth as riding over those choppy waves all day.

Once we figured out what we both wanted, we decided to anchor out. Sometimes when faced with a decision, it’s best to choose acceptance of what you don’t understand (I’m referring to myself here). I get nervous in new situations, so I wanted to go to the marina (familiar choice), but anchoring out was the best choice. We swam off the boat and  enjoyed the sunset together.

In the St. James harbor, we were anchored with about 11 other boats, mostly sailboats. When the wind shifted all the boats would glide in unison to the same point without bumping into each other. One of the boats was named, Acceptance.

 

 

Sometimes I accept God’s gifts freely. But other times, I get deceived. I start thinking I deserve certain gifts, like cooler weather or having my own way. It is hard to admit, but sometimes I start rejecting the gifts from above or worse I resent them because they’re not exactly what I wanted. I know that sounds really immature, but it’s true.

After spending the night in St. James harbor, we embarked on the  next leg of the journey that would lead us to St. Ignace, a small town across the way from Mackinaw Island under the majestic Mackinac Bridge. Calm waters accompanied us.

 

 

Once we made it to safe harbor, we checked the weather report. We successfully outran the winds. The waves were already at 4ft in the section we passed through earlier. Thankfully, we willingly received God’s wisdom to let go of one thing, so that we could enjoy another.