THE SEA OF LIFE
Life is like a sea, sometimes we are on top of the waves, feeling like surfers tackling our problems and making headway with a big grin for all the success we feel. Other times, the waves are complacent little bobs of nothingness,which although still slight swellings responsible for some motion, which barely take us anywhere and we end up feeling stagnant, like we’re stuck. Then every now and then, we get those tsunamis, sometimes even in clusters of multiples, which not only scare us, but take us so far and so fast in turbulent distress out of our norms, that we are shocked, dismayed, and disturbed by the sheer fact that our sea of life sent them our way. Most of the time, we hope to be in the constant calm of a crystal blue sea, able to see our direction ahead, surrounded by others whom we trust and love, responsible for our own journey with a definable compass and equipment we can rely on, and with the knowledge that we haven’t had any upsetting tides nor stagnant times to stress us.
When life’s sea sends us in strange and unknown waters, those uncharted and with unknown markers, we can feel fear. We can find ourselves more afraid to proceed in life than ever before . . . and fear is the vast darkness of depths yet unseen. Fear robs us of so much joy in life, it steals our peace of mind and catapults us into places of despair and evil. If you could equate it to the realm of the sea, it would be like finding either a shark’s fin cutting through the water’s surface near you, or even a school of sharks swimming underneath you. Nothing screams more primally of fear than imagining the fear of the top predator of the sea crossing our pathway! Our fears are like that. They live in the darkest recesses for a reason. They prey upon our peace for a reason. They are disturbing and unsettling to us for a reason, they are imagined, they are unseen, they are usually unrealized. So why do they garner so much power? Well, fear is the realm of all the negative thoughts we have, so in that negativity lives all that is wrong within us.
We can also dwell in the drift of nothingness, when it seems as though the sea hasn’t enough current to propel us anywhere! We become frustrated and puzzled,wondering how to find our escape, to swim ourselves free from the confines of stagnation! Is that so bad? Normally we like a bit of calm, but in stagnation, means a floundering without direction, with no definable goals, our aspirations falter and we suffocate when finally, in fatigue, we sink into the endless sea around us. It’s tiresome and overwhelming, this state of affairs! We must learn to have faith and to leap forward when life stops dead in its tracks. There are motors on a sailboat for the times when the wind is not anywhere to be found. Sometimes in life, we need our plan B’s to guide us to another place where we are more ready to wait out the dead spaces of nothingness which surround us. Don’t be afraid to use your motor when the sails won’t fill with air! Call upon the powers which guide you, for me it is God! Always and forever, I will rely and trust in Him. Use your strength to move past the moments of stagnancy and consternation, press on!
No matter what the sea of life brings your way, be happy always and thankful for the fact that you are still afloat! It is important to be grateful for your life, your current circumstances, your blessings, your joys, your family, your friends, no matter what you can say is something of value in our life, even life itself! Be grateful! It is better than drowning in the dark sea, giving up, and never knowing the true measure of life . . . promising and beautiful, filled with reasons to celebrate, even the smallest reasons exist in each moment of the day, every day! Appreciate your sea! Your waves might become this great set of surfable ones which carry you to a place of previously unknown successes, growth, love, happiness, desire, dreams, and inspiration! 
Leading others with your light is of the utmost importance. It’s not as important that the messages of faith be heard as it is to see the great joy in the heart of the messengers, those of us who believe! Our profound love, our faithful twinkle, all our souls & spirits alive with the light of God! We believers can do ourselves great disservice when we insist in adhering to the letter of the “law” as we know it rather than being lighthouses of guidance through our own example! It’s not nearly as important to be “right” as it is righteous. If we flounder, that is not such a big deal for we know our Lord forgives us, so we need to forgive ourselves, forgive others & let acceptance again replace our disdain. If we stumble in our walk, we need to just keep asking for guidance in our journey, as we know not what He that created us 
does, we are inherently walking in darkness & uncertainty. We need to let Him lead us like the sun leads the world, then we need to be bastions of that light for others who are lost or uncertain. That means walking in profound faith, with expectation & joyful contentment in His promises! Actions speak louder than words! We are the His examples while we walk this earth, for He has truly risen!
As this year draws to a close, many find reason to happily close the doors upon this one, as it was simply not the type of year they had envisioned. Some things changed, things happened, pain ensued & their personal history became altered. But the truth of life is in the fact that it is ever-changing, ever-testing, ever-filled with those elements which try us & make us stalwart in who we are. We would never be much of anything were it not for the wisdom learned through our tests, the strength built through each battle & the compassion learned by being hurt. We aren’t here to live half-lives of just the pleasant & the rewarding, for they aren’t the moments which build much of any character in us. We can pray, hope & wish for only those types of moments, but reality will rear a head more authentic, & we will have to develop something within us that permits us to be more, to do better & to live happily regardless. My hope for each of us as we move on in life is to see the pathway illuminated less precisely but with more clarity by recognizing our own inability to control everything. We must see our very need to cede power but retain strength in all life events which are concurrently happening around us as well, our inherent desire to live faithfully & with a sense of contentment regardless the circumstances. It is possible to make 2013 a better year now sight unseen, just by changing your mindset & securing that outcome. It is truly up to you! Life won’t probably be all that less challenging, the world will be just as chaotic, but you will be standing firmly & resolutely on solid ground regardless. And that is the great truth of life . . the firmament you seek is within you!
It’s just the start of a new year & you should try to make it count, making it worthwhile, making it the best one yet by putting your emotions in check, by choosing to live instead not by them, but by your own powerful & affirmative ability to sail & venture into life. You should be assured that you will weather storms yet to be projected even! You, after all, are the captain of your own ship, where will you sail this year? Will you remain docked in the same place, because you dare not venture out beyond your comfort zone? Will you sail out only to the break for that is the furthest you dare go for fear of what lies ahead? Or will you, master & commander of your own ship, sail beyond all the places you have dared to go before to face uncharted waters even?! 
cherylriesauthor 
