‘In literally hundreds of instances, a vessel’s ignorance of her longitude led swiftly to her destruction. Launched on a mix of bravery and greed, the sea captains of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries relied on “dead reckoning” to gauge their distance east or west of home port. The captain would throw a log overboard and observe how quickly the ship receded from this temporary guidepost. He noted the crude speedometer reading in his ship’s logbook, along with the direction of travel, which he took from the stars or a compass, and the length of time on a particular course, counted with a sandglass or a pocket watch. Factoring in the effects of ocean currents, fickle winds, and errors in judgment, he then determined his longitude. He routinely missed his mark, of course—searching.’
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Harrison's chronometer |
‘Time is to clock as mind is to brain. The clock or watch somehow contains the time. And yet time refuses to be bottled up like a genie stuffed in a lamp. Whether it flows as sand or turns on wheels within wheels, time escapes irretrievably, while we watch. Even when the bulbs of the hourglass shatter, when darkness withholds the shadow from the sundial, when the mainspring winds down so far that the clock hands hold still as death, time itself keeps on. The most we can hope a watch to do is mark that progress. And since time sets its own tempo, like a heartbeat or an ebb tide, timepieces don't.’
Even the term, “dead reckoning” didn’t bode well for the sailors who, for centuries, had no other means of measuring. There was a way however, far superior to a tossed log, to track the progress of their journey. I think and write a lot about the concept of journey. It’s a big part of what I do in my role with the Wycliffe Global Alliance (and it was a major theme in my doctoral thesis). We apply the concept to how we approach organizational strategy. Nowadays it’s also something I think about in relation to world events. However and wherever you look, there are issues of power and control. Who has it, who wants it, how to get it. One of the notable lessons in the story of longitude is that there was no possibility of actually gaining control of stars or seas. It was about marking progress in order to journey well.
How do we mark progress in our journey? We’ve never been this way before. But we follow a God who knows each step of the way. Staying close to Him, growing in the knowledge of his ways, will keep us moving forward at His pace and in His time. We need to discern, make wise choices under His direction. And we need to remember we are no more in control of our journey than we are in control of the wind, the waves, or time. How much more reassuring to know God is in control of it all!
So, this isn’t just theory or spiritual musings. It’s real life. It probably applies to your life. I know it applies to ours! We’ve been serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators for about 35 years now and I can’t think of a year, a role, or a major decision that didn’t include God-given surprises, new life lessons, and unexpected blessings. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us! We continue to seek God’s guidance as we journey on.
Like most of you, we haven’t been doing as much literal travel as we did a few years ago, but that’s starting to change a bit. I was in Mexico for meetings twice this summer. Tom was there on the second trip as well. We were encouraged to see how God has been growing His Church and continuing to enable His Word to be translated. These difficult times were no surprise and no hindrance to Him. At our meetings, we mourned the loss of several colleagues, but also celebrated actual increases in translation progress and in people getting involved in giving and preparation for service. We also heard many such stories during our global meetings last month. We tire of meeting virtually, but doing so did allow the involvement of hundreds more leaders from Wycliffe organizations around the world. You can share in some of the worship and stories that are on the Alliance website.
Surprises, life lessons, and unexpected blessings were also the order of the day at home in recent months. My parents, who came to live with us about three years ago, decided to move back to Tennessee. They went back to the same retirement community they lived in before, Uplands Village, but this time they moved into assisted living. They are doing well (Mother turned 90 this month!) and are still very independent, but appreciate the services there and on-hand medical care should they need it. The house they owned there never sold during their time with us, but they’ve now been able to exchange it to take care of some of the fees at their new apartment. This was not a transition we expected, but we know God is in it. My parents are content there. Mother is making lots of friends and Daddy is busy helping with the landscaping.
So, on to a new chapter here, as well. It now includes visits to Tennessee as well as connecting with our New York family and Colorado family as possible. And since my parents’ apartment was now empty, we have refilled it with a lovely young couple from church. They come with a darling baby, six chickens and a dog. So, things are quite lively around here! We are very happy with the arrangement and hope they will be, too. We didn’t even need to advertise! They needed to move quickly, so are now graciously and patiently living in our upstairs while we finish work on the apartment as fast as possible. We hope to finish the work on the kitchen in the next two weeks. No small thing with Tom already working two jobs. I’m standing at the ready to paint, grout, and seal floors when my time comes.
We will include more about our kids next time (including photos). We got to see everyone this summer! Numerous birthdays were celebrated, as well. Winslow turned 7, Wynnie turned 10 (!), Aurélie turned 7, and Chloe turned 2 (and suddenly for the first time started telling everyone she was 1! That’s a 2-year-old for you). Jude will be 6 in November, and Noah, 5 in February. They are a joy…and keep their parents busy. Both families are homeschooling. We appreciate you keeping them and us in your prayers, as we continue to pray for you as well!
Tom and Susan
