Avoiding a Shipwrecked Faith

Spiritual lessons from a capsized cruise ship;
A Race to Nome

Avoiding a Shipwrecked Faith
Spiritual lessons from a capsized cruise ship

Much like that grave ill-fated cruise
that captivates the evening news,
we run the risk of capsized faith
if we ignore God’s charts.

They point to what will do us in.
Those submerged boulders He calls sin.
The jagged crags of lust and greed
just cannot be ignored.

Yes, unseen rocks can tear a hole
and scar the lining of the soul.
The reef of sin will ruthlessly
destroy the joy we seek.

We’d best steer clear of Satan’s lies.
If not, we’re likely to capsize.
And shipwrecked faith is fraught with fear
and doubt that steals your hope.

A Race to Nome
A tag-team rescue then and now

In Nome in 1925
they wondered if they would survive.
A January shortage
found them scurrying for help.

Without a much-needed supply,
both old and young would surely die.
But just in time sled dogs came through
and serum reached the town.**

And now (as then) they prayed and hoped.
Without reserves, they’d never cope.
Another shortage (like before)
meant Nome was in the news.

In what seemed both absurd and cruel,
a Russian tanker had their fuel
but couldn’t ply the Bering Sea.
The ice was 8 feet thick.

So near and yet so far away!
The folks in Nome still hoped and prayed.
And as was true in ’25,
a tag-team raced ‘gainst time.

The Coast Guard’s Healy broke the ice
and paved a way that would suffice
to let the tanker fin’lly reach
the isolated town.

Through teamwork Nome received black gold
and now is brighter and less cold.
And as was true in ’25,
God answered just in time.