Perspective of staying on compass...

An old friend sent me a picture today that reminded me of how God works
in our lives through the process of time, relationships, and
circumstances. Even though we may think we have a sense of direction and
purpose...Our Father in Heaven is truly the only one who stays on
compass.  How many times in our lives have each of us lost our heading,
only to have Him bring us back on course and into safe harbor.  These new
tides of grief and mourning I have been sailing through are as constant as the ocean's waves breaking on the
shore. It could be a storm or a beautiful day....but it's always there. I'm at sea, waiting for my next heading.
I've
shared with you our beginnings...passionate, turbulent, momentous times
for what our future together would become.....with both of us acting
out of character. All things being normal, we should have blown out of
each others lives within a couple of months...From the beginning when
everyone except Danny and Debbie, (our marriage
witnesses) were objecting..... to her dying...we had conflict and contention from within and
without. The reason being of course, that we always would stand and step
forward for what we thought was right.  Reality being that if you don't stand for anything,
you don't have conflict until you eventually get run over. This became
even more a part of our lives when going through a crisis together in
1987 we came face to face together with the God who had been keeping
each of us afloat through the years.
From then on, our life was
filled with a new daily insight and understanding of what we should be
doing and standing for.... backed with a sense of grace, love, courage,
and strength to carry it forward. It was shortly after this time when
Barbara came to me one Sunday morning and  in a very quiet voice said, "When I was in
high school, Sister Isabelle said I had a gift for writing; I've been
thinking about writing a book." I looked at her and said, "Wow Honey,
you never told me that before. Let's enroll you in a writer's
conference and see what you need to do to make that happen. I'll handle
the children while you go." The rest is history.....she became a pen for
all that God holds dear, especially children, mothers, families, and
the culture of our society.
Reflection: Looking at the two wild and
crazy typhoons below and what their lives became...Barbara and I
encourage and exhort you to stay the course. Don't deviate from the
compass heading He gives you, regardless of the many diversions that may
come your way on your voyage. I tell you truth...we were both
unfaithful before we first went out....but never since. Be stubborn for what is right and be true to your love.  If you are
willing, He will assure you to stay on compass.


               
            For a girl that started out with a lousy hand, she left us with a full house.

You probably know by now that, "my one weakness" is music... I leave you with this cover of an old Dylan tune that meant one thing to Barbara and I when we started with everyone against us......and since time has passed means something entirely different to me as we've weathered many storms....and will now be voyaging on alone...
In His grip,
Papa Tripp