Saturday July 25, 2020
Sally Murphy
Faith…in my Father(s)
The other day I set off to walk down near the ocean next to the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor. As I neared the water, I heard the loud fog horns of large ships trying to enter the Piscataqua River, yet as I reached the rocks, I could barely see the waves through the dense fog. It reminded me of a trip I took with my father years ago as a young adult aboard his 32-foot sailboat. We left Annisquam, Massachusetts, headed for Maine very early in the morning. About halfway along the New Hampshire coast the fog came in so densely that we could barely see from the stern to the bow. My father was a true traditional and experienced navigator and had refused to succumb to newfangled navigation devices such as loran or radar. He still navigated the old-fashioned way with compass, pencil and paper chart. He handed me the helm and went below to plot the course and bring out the large compass. He told me to set course for the red nun just off Gosport Harbor at the Isles of Shoals. Heading into the Isles of Shoals from the south involves passing between White Island, with its light house set high on a rocky cliff, with Lunging Island just beyond, and Star Island, Smuttynose and Appledore on the right. A few hours later my father told me to go sit up on the bow as we neared unseen White Island with its foghorn blaring. I saw nothing but grayness all around me, but what disconcerted me the most was the sound of waves crashing loudly on the rocks and I could not see them. Faith in my father kept me calm. The sound of the horn gradually passed us on the left and suddenly out of the fog not a few yards in front of me was red nun #4! He had hit it right on the nose! We continued on through the isles without ever seeing land, or the danger lurking there. I had faith that my father would get us through without harm.
My earthly father is no longer here to help me navigate when needed but my Heavenly father is still with me. Sometimes now I feel that I am living in fog and cannot see what’s ahead or where I am going. What will life be like in the future? But I put my trust in Him to help me through the fog and keep me off the crashing rocks.
🎵Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.🎵