The Old Sailing Rule
Frank Curry continued his harrowing account of rescuing a torpedoed ship in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during a winter storm:
Terrible seas still running as we pounded our way into them. We are bouncing all over creation. Somehow we found the merchant ship at 0200 of the wildest darkest night imaginable, and got a line aboard her. Headed slowly back to Sydney from close to St. Paul’s Island. It is rougher than I ever dreamt the ocean could be. Our mess decks are knee-deep in bitterly cold sea water, everything possible is afloat from spilled tins of jam to best uniforms, hats, sea-biscuits, letters and books. No one gives it a second thought—for it seems all-important to think of survival. Arms and legs and joints are screaming for even a moment’s relaxation from the jarring and pitching and beating. One has to go back to the old sailing rule of one hand for the ship, one hand for yourself, particularly on the upper deck where one false move means the end.87
The “old sailing rule” originated with an old salt who wisely realized that aboard ship the best intentions are useless if you get injured or lost at sea because you neglected the violent movements of the ship itself. No matter the importance of the task at hand, you have to first make sure that you are physically secure in your surroundings. This is a great analogy for our spiritual lives. Our spiritual anchor point is our Savior, Jesus Christ. We always have to have one hand out for him, to support us and guide us as we tackle the vexing problems of our daily lives. Without him, we will be battered by our problems and lost in our spiritual journey.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
—Mark 4:40–41