11:13P

At sea, of course, somewhere in the Caribbean Ocean. It always makes me marvel at earlier sailors. Today they have sophisticated communications, global positioning satellites, and the highest technology onboard the ships. In the days of the explorers, like Columbus and Megellan, they had a compass by day and a sexton by night. I mean, they actually determined their course over thousands of miles of open sea by the positions of the stars. They were courageous, and they were risk-takers of highest order. That's how they accomplished great things. Every day and night they worked to survive. Not only that, they worked with a long range goal in mind. That goal kept them going. Whether it was discovering a new route to foreign ports or charting new seas and coastlines, they had a reason for the daily challenges. At the end of the day they had something they could point to with a sense of deep satisfaction and accomplishment.
I am a risk-taker. I am willing to go into uncharted waters -- as long as I have a greater, divine purpose for doing so. I will endure the daily challenges and immediate threats because of the long-range purpose that I serve. Sometimes the very people that I thought would travel this road in partnership with me, fail to grasp the vision...even become hostile to it. As long as the Lord assures me that the vision I have fits His purpose for my life and His church, I am constrained to stay the course. I pray that my efforts will aid the pilgrimage of future risk-taking disciples.