A Sea Story.

I was just a lad when I first went on a sea voyage with my grandfather. Both my grandfathers had been seafaring men and spent their lives on the sea. My mother's father owned a small schooner of fifty tons and from late spring to late fall plied the northeast coast of Newfoundland, touching in at the various small ports to deliver provisions for the local merchants.

Before the highroad system was built and large transport trucks were able to traverse the island, schooners and vessels such as my grandfather's were the sole means of supplying the coastal towns and villages. To go with my grandfather on one of those voyages during the summer was always an adventure to be cherished and remembered.

On one such voyage one of the crew members was new and lacked a lot of experience, although he was a hard worker and anxious to please. Each of the crew had to take their turn at the wheel or stand watch. A watch usually was of four hours duration, at the end of which another of the crew took over. It was the new man's turn and my grandfather handed over the midnight watch to him. Of course he was given specific instructions and was to keep his eye on the compass just in front of the wheel, steering according to the compass bearings my grandfather had given him.

All seemed to be going well and the schooner was making good speed. As dawn broke, my grandfather, his sleep finished, came on deck. Taking one look at the horizon and the rising sun he immediately knew something was wrong. A quick look at the compass told him that the new man had taken the schooner of course. He had not steered the course which had been set for him. His eyes had strayed from the compass settings, and the vessel was miles off course and would never reach it's destination until it was brought back on course by the master seaman, my grandfather.

I learned a great lesson from that one particular voyage, the importance of keeping my eye on the compass. I take my eye off the compass and neglect the course that has been set for me at my peril. The Psalmist said: " I have set the Lord always Before me." Psm.16:8, and in proverbs 3:6 the writer exhorts:" In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

When I turn my life over to God, he sets the course. He gives me a compass by which to steer. The Holy spirit is the guiding influence which comes into my life when I commit my life to Christ. To neglect His direction, to fail to steer by the compass is to drift off course, to live a purposeless life, and ultimately to fail to reach my destination.