Safe Harbor

 

The USS Constitution is a ship that earned the name "Old Ironsides" when her white oak, 22" thick hull was able to withstand many attacks during the War of 1812.

She is the worlds oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat. 

 But even the mighty Ironsides was dependent upon the winds to help move and evade attacks.  

In July of 1812, a British squadron of five ships engaged the USS Constitution which tried to outrun them.  But the winds completely stopped, so Captain Isaac Hull used a method called kedging which entailed putting anchors into the smaller boats, rowing those in the desired direction and then dropping them.  The anchors would then pull the ship along by the attached ropes.  They would then be raised and the process repeated.

It must have been slow and arduous work, but it saved the ship and awarded her a reputation as a serious naval contender.  

It was said that it almost seemed that cannonballs would bounce off her sides.  But just because she was a strong ship doesn't mean she didn't endure assault and injury.

During various skirmishes the wheel was destroyed along with four quartermasters around it.  Railings were shattered.  Sailors lives were lost to musketballs.   

Time after time the USS Constitution returned to port for repairs.  Safe harbor was needed to protect from enemy attack and the vicious maritime squalls and storms. 

We, too, are navigating stormy waters.  

At times it may seem that there is no possible way for us to endure another hit.  Sometimes it will seem as if the winds are assaulting and whipping us to shreds, rather than moving us along the course.  

Other times it may seem the winds have stopped entirely.  That we are trapped in the doldrums, unable to progress.  It is at these times that we may have to pick up our anchors, put them in our dinghy and row a hundred yards and then drop it.  One foot at a time, slowly pulling ourselves along while we wait for the winds for which our sails were built. 

We will often need to return to the harbor for safety and repairs.

Elder Joseph B Worthlin promised, 

"Many today feel troubled and distressed; many feel that, at any moment, the ships of their lives could capsize or sink. It is to you who are looking for a safe harbor that I wish to speak today, you whose hearts are breaking, you who are worried or afraid, you who bear grief or the burdens of sin, you who feel no one is listening to your cries, you whose hearts are pleading, “Master, carest thou not that I perish?” To you I offer a few words of comfort and of counsel.

Be assured that there is a safe harbor. You can find peace amidst the storms that threaten you. Your Heavenly Father—who knows when even a sparrow falls—knows of your heartache and suffering. He loves you and wants the best for you. Never doubt this. While He allows all of us to make choices that may not always be for our own or even others’ well-being, and while He does not always intervene in the course of events, He has promised the faithful peace even in their trials and tribulations."

Be assured there is safe harbor.  

In 2 Samuel 22 David writes of this:

"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

3The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

4I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

5When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;

6The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

7In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears."

David's cries were heard.  And so are ours.  He is our refuge.  Our rock.  Our harbor.  Our home.

(Source: USS Constitution Museum)