Chaplains on the River

Step outside…of your home…onto the deck of the boat…breathe deeply!  Fill your lungs to capacity…hold your breath for the count of 10…and slowly exhale.  Ahh!!!  Despite a few possible smells, isn’t it wonderful?  The air we breathe sustains our lives.  We cannot see it - unless you live in a very polluted area! - yet it is full of sound, smells…and bugs.  God’s presence is like that.  It is all around us, within us, sustaining us, and uplifting us.  Yet, sometimes, we also have to deal with bugs in our lives.

We cannot point to God’s presence, because to point that God is “over here” is to imply that God is “not over there.”  We can, however, point out signs of God’s presence everywhere - in the beauty that we see along the river each day, in the person we share our watch with, in other crew across the galley table, in our family and friends shoreside.

In reality, it is not possible for us to be apart from God.  But then why do we sometimes feel like we are apart from God?  Most of the time we are not conciously aware of God’s presence.  We are like the young child who cannot see Mom in the next room.  The child assumes that Mom has ceased to exist until she steps back into the room again.  We seem to forget that every breath we take is God’s breath; everywhere we step is holy.  We forget that we - and all others - are the expression of God.

Seeing God all around us automatically creates reverence for life.  Thoughtless actions and words can only occur when we forget that God is right where we are, in every situation.  So now is the time to breathe deeply and acknowledge the presence of God to fill our lives.  I have a saying that I like to use:  “Be blessed and be a blessing!”  May this become your mantra and affirmation as well.  See you on the water…

Chaplain Mike