Chaplains on the River

There are probably lots of former Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, CampFire Girls and Boys - or parents of kids who were in these youth groups - reading this blog.  The motto “Be Prepared!: has become synonomous with Scouting, and even the American Red Cross, in recent years.  Certainly those of us living along the Gulf Coast are well aware during this season of the year to be prepared to handle possible tropical storm/hurricane occurances at both our homes and on the rivers where we work.

Last week, while attending the rededication of the upgraded simulator and refurbished building at the SCI Center for Maritime Education in Paducah, I had the opportunity to visit the fire training field for the first time.  While I have had fire extinguisher training in the past, the size and heat of the simulator were impressive.  When I remembered that this could occur while underway - and that the area in which to move and work would be restricted to the deck - I began to appreciate how important it is to be prepared to deal with fires on a towboat. 

I hope that none of you reading this blog have to deal with a fire onboard your boat.  But, I am told, the reality is that most inland mariners will have to deal with fire at some point in time.  I do know this:  “fires” will occur in the life of each one of us in some way at some time.  Just as we benefit from training and practice in dealing with a galley, bilge or fuel line fire, we can also benefit from being prepared to deal with “fires” that happen in our lives.

So what can help us to be prepared?  Without trying to sound trite, I would propose several straight-forward practices that will be beneficial:

1. Pray, meditate and take time to be reflective every day.  It does not have to be long, or formal, but take time to pause, breathe, and gather yourself each day.  Many find this useful just before going to sleep, or upon waking up.  Whenever…and however…just do it!

2. Be mindful of relationships.  No matter how strong you may be - or think you are - as an individual, we all need other people!  Every towboater knows how important it is to find ways to get along with fellow crew.  The same is true in our lives in general.  Think twice before popping off or blowing your stack.  Be kind and gentle to others.  What goes around DOES come around.  The greatest strength is a quiet and controlled strength.

3. Don’t try to be a Lone Ranger.  Think about it - even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!  One of the reasons your Ministry on the River chaplains are here is to listen…listen…and listen some more.  If we can pray for you, give advice and counsel, and/or help contact someone on your behalf, we are glad to do it.  When we are on your boat, we are there for you.  Anytime - 24/7, 365 - an MOR Chaplain is available by dialing (800) 708-1998.  Pictured left to right are Chaplains Jim Wilkinson, Ann Mills, and Mike Hammett.

Be Prepared!  It is not just a well-known cliche.  It is a good philosophy to live by on the river and in our personal lives.

Posted: June 30th, 2009 under Towboaters.
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We have all heard the saying:  “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!”  Well…I have learned that this is NOT true!!  My Sheltie mix dog, Teddy, is 13 years old.  Over the past six months, he has become a new man.  With improved nutrition (he takes more suplements than I do!), socialization with other dogs, and training in both group and individual settings, Teddy has become like a young dog again.  He has high energy, is happy and healthy, and IS learning new behaviors and “tricks.”  He even has tried herding sheep!!

This week, I had the blessing of visiting with a towing company shoreside employee who shared an inspiring story.  As a child, he would see towboaters on the river near his home, and always wanted to be one.  Like a lot of people, life just did not unfold the way he had first imagined, and he became busy working and raising a family.  At the age of 50, he was challenged by some friends in the towing industry to apply to become a deckhand.  He accepted, completed training, worked on the water for several years, and is now in a position of responsibility helping care for crew members.  In his own words:  “How many people get a second chance to live their dream?”  He is one happy and satisfied person.

None of us are ever too old…or too young…to learn new tricks!  Our behaviors can help or hurt us.  The safety training every towboater constantly receives reminds that best practices are in place becasue they are safe practices.  Situational awareness is hammered in because it is important, both on the boat and in everyday life.  One company executive told me that he is a much safer driver everyday because of being more attentive to other drivers and roadway conditions.  Safety trainers will quickly tell us that we can never just drift along being inattentive.

So how about you and your life?  How are you doing with learning AND practicing good, helpful and healthy habits - those “new tricks?”  It is never too late or too early to make changes in your life…your relationships…for the good.  In the Holy Bible, we read these words:  “Happy is he who has found wisdom, he who has acquired understanding, for wisdom is more profitable than silver, and the gain she brings is better than gold!” (Proverbs 3:13-14, The Revised English Bible).  In other words, when we find that which makes our hearts sing, and do it, we will be healthier, happier and fundamentally better for it.

May faith in God, as you understand and know God, be a source of blessing in your life!

Posted: June 18th, 2009 under Towboaters.
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A special friend recently introduced me to the Wordle web site.  Wordle is a tool for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide.  The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.  The wordle shown here is generated from the text of the English Standard Version (ESV) of the New Testament.

So the question I ask each of us to consider is a simple, yet profound, one.  If your life could be fed into this Wordle tool, and a word cloud representing the priorities of your life generated, what would it look like?  What things would be shown to have the most importance:   family…work…money…worries…recreations…faith? 

There are no right or wrong answers here, just a self-assesment of who we are and where we are on this journey of life.  As you consider what your life wordle might look like, the question to ask is are you pleased and happy with the result?  Have you achieved…or are you on the path to achieve…the goals you envision?  Are your personal and professional relationships satisfying and positive?  Are you responding or reacting to life?

If a medical doctor gives you a perscription, and you react to it, that is bad.  It means your body is allergic to that medicine or the medicine is having an adverse affect.  If, on the oter hand, you respond to the medicine, that is good.  It is having a positive and helpful affect. 

We all have times when it seems like we are “too busy” to stop and think.  It is important to pause and ponder our path through life ocassionally, just like charts or AIS keep the wheelman aware of the location and path forward of the boat.  Think about your life wordle…think about the implications…and keep moving forward on a right path!

Posted: June 12th, 2009 under Towboaters.
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