Category: Intuition Diaries

Rest: Peace of Mind or Spirit

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.”

Isaiah 30:15 NIV
 
North Point Marina

The Intuition Diaries

The first day of our trip a small craft advisory kept us at rest. We weren’t able to leave the marina as the waves were too high for safe travel. The next day we embarked on the first day of boating, we were well rested after a day of eating, napping and exploring the North Point Marina grounds. On our day of rest, we celebrated Les’ birthday. I made Les dinner and I told him that I had a surprise…I was going to take him on a trip around Lake Michigan. He laughed.

For his birthday dessert, I made brownie waffles with strawberries on top.

We left the marina early Monday morning to cruise the 67 miles to our next port. While we puttered along the Wisconsin coast of the lake, I was thinking.

 I often ask Les what he is thinking and he will reply, “Nothing.”

I find this difficult to believe because my mind never seems to rest. I noticed while I was busy thinking that I either recall the past or project into the future. One minute I am thinking about all the fun times we had on previous vacations, and then the next thing I know,  I am wondering what’s for lunch or where will be headed the next day.

I asked Les about his ability to think about nothing. He admitted that he enjoys the present. He explores the scenery around him. He pays attention to the charts and the direction the boat is headed. He lives in the moment. I admire him. I can do this occasionally, but it truly takes discipline for me to rest and remain in the moment.

The trip today started out calm, and about halfway through our trip the waves started getting choppy. This caused the boat to bounce, which caused me to get a bit uneasy and queasy. I tried everything to enjoy the moment, including taking a nap.

 After my nap, Les asked if I wanted to drive and I declined. About an hour away from our destination, I decided I did want to drive and Les gave the helm over to me.

I was amazed at how I went from restlessness to restful once I had something to concentrate on. Rest takes many forms. It can be sleep, which actually renews our bodies. It may be just letting your mind enjoy the scenery around you. For me I need something to help me rest, so I rested my mind on the task at hand.

Once we got to Port Washington, Wisconsin, I was feeling relaxed. I was at rest, free from anxiety. We continued our rest by wandering around the town, eating a late lunch at Beanies(best fajitas ever!). We ended our day by riding our bikes on a local trail and eating ice cream for dinner.



 

 

Posted on by kelrohlf 0

Routine: The Travelled Way

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same
the Lord’s name is to be praised.
Psalm 113:3 KJV

The Intuition Diaries

Routines were to be left behind, while we vacationed on Lake Michigan. Or so we thought.  We found out at the beginning of our trip that routines are important whether we were on vacation or not. Just like the rising and setting of the sun, routines have their purposes. Every time we take the boat out, we follow a checklist. Read more if you want to hear how we neglected a crucial routine, but were graced with GRACE!

 

At the beginning of July, we drove away from St. Louis, towing our boat, the Intuition. We arrived late afternoon to our destination just north of Chicago on the western shore of the lake. We checked in with the marina and proceeded to get the boat ready for our adventure of following a clockwise circuit around the shores of Lake Michigan.

We were out of our normal routine. Les was thinking about getting the extra kicker motor on the back of the boat. (This motor is our backup if the main engine fails.) I was thinking about how to arrange the extra food and other items inside the boat, so we wouldn’t be tripping over stuff for the next few weeks. It took about an hour to get everything transferred to the boat, so we were pleased with our efficiency.

Next stop—back the boat down the ramp and find our boat slip. We have a checklist for this procedure, but for some reason neither one of us pulled it out. Familiarity and past successes at this mundane part of boating became an embarrassing oversight.

Before heading out to sea, it is prudent to make sure the engine fires up and everything is working properly. So we took our usual steps (sort of) and tried the engine. NOTHING! Was the battery dead? Why is the bilge pump running? Did the fridge drain the battery on the road trip here? We were baffled.

We went back to the bilge pump question. Why was it running? Its purpose is to bail water from the cockpit of the boat or any water that is in the bottom of the boat. Under my breath, I was praying for wisdom. We opened the floor hatch and noted  water in the bottom of the boat, which the pump was dutifully offloading. All of a sudden, we remembered…the plug…did anyone put the plug in before we entered the water!? Nope, we totally skipped that part of the checklist. We scrambled and pulled the boat back on the trailer, let the water drain. Then promptly put the plug in.

The grace part: In our rush to get to our destination (the slip at the marina); I had knocked the throttle out of neutral. The engine only starts in neutral. The checklist states: “Check to make sure the throttle is in neutral position before starting the engine.” If the engine had started, we would have had a more serious problem on our hands, like how to get a sinking boat out of the harbor.

After figuring out the plug problem, we consulted the checklist, which solved the engine failure. I put the boat back into neutral, and the engine fired up immediately. What did we learn? We learned to trust the routine and always look at the checklist. After our humiliation subsided, we laughed at ourselves and thanked God for watching out for us in our foolishness.

Sunday Morning Sunrise

North Point Marina, Winthrop Harbor, IL 8.10.2012

 

 
Posted on by kelrohlf 1