Yesterday friends from our church took us out on their boat about 20 plus miles south of Dauphin Island snapper fishing. On our way out I was a little nervous to be honest as the land became more and more distant in our rear view. Mind you its like 3:30 pm and I’m thinking things like….

Umm it’s going to be dark before we return I would bet.  

Peering over at each oil rig thinking ok I could probably swim over there to that if I absolutely had to. 

Then as we passed all of those rigs and even passed the intercoastal canal  where many ships sat waiting to be cleared by customs to go into the ports, and it was only us in a relatively small boat and lots and lots of water.  Those massive ships were not even in view any more. I had a choice to relinquish control I was grasping for but simply was not there or keep my Pastors wife hat on on the outside with bundles of nerves screaming “Help! Get me out of here!” on the inside.  

 

So I began to do what I do best. Talk. I sat seemingly relaxed and was trying to convince myself to really be as I started talking to my friend about this “Salt Life” that she was soooooo calm about. She said things like “Oh the Coast Guard would be here in minutes if we had a problem.” And “My husband can fix anything!” with total calmness and absolutely zero worry! Her three year old daughter had actually just fallen asleep in my arms to show you how at peace she was out in the middle of the ocean. She knew her Daddy was well able to take care of her. She had been out in those waters with him countless times in her little three year old life. I sat amazed at the peace level of this wife and daughter as we zoomed out into the the oblivion of the ocean. 

We continued talking and the more she talked the more I got a picture of how relaxed we should be in life knowing good and well we are in shark infested waters and that yes problems could arise but that our Heavenly Father is well able to fix anything that could come up if need be. If only we could trust in our God who is at the wheel of our lives as much as this lady trusted her husband as our skipper.  

We glided across the beautiful glassy water and found our destination, put down our lines and guess who caught the first fish? And the second? And well I won’t go on bragging. 😂🐠 Let’s just say faith came to my heart by hearing and hearing how convinced she was that we were in good hands and we had a blast! I did relax and then really enjoyed this amazing day trip out into the blue, blue waters of the gulf.

 

When we are filled with the knowledge of God’s will we are confident to do what He has called us to do. There is no anxiety. Once I became convinced of some of the knowledge our friends had about deep sea fishing 🎣 I actually began to do it successfully and enjoy it. There was zero anxiety any more. And that’s just with a tiny bit of knowledge. So you don’t have to even know much but the more we renew our minds with the knowledge of His will, the more we will enjoy life without anxiety! 

 

I hope this very late Happy Monday can help you have a Happy Tuesday and rest of your week. I almost didn’t send it out because I got it done so late but here you go! Hope this encouraged you like it did me! This parable of the sea was just for me right now I think but thought I’ld share. 

Also wanted to let you know we extended the special rate for the Happy Conf til Sept 1st & rooms are available til then also but are going fast. Go to happyanyway.org and register for a super fun giant slumber party at the beach! Lisa Young is amazing and you do not want to miss this event! Hope to see you there! 💕