The Sunday Sermonette – Collision Course.
Fog! Its misty-warm shroud can engulf the Mississippi Gulf Coast, especially during late spring and early summer, when hot, moist air above the Gulf of Mexico meets the Coast’s cooler land surface. This scenario holds true for the Atlantic Ocean, too. When warm air blowing off the Eastern Seaboard comes in contact with the cold waters of the Atlantic, this coupling creates thick fog. Very thick. On both bodies of water, sea captains must proceed with extreme caution.
On a dense, foggy night in July 1956, the elegant Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria was struck by the Swedish liner Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket. With a grating screech and shattering steel, the Stockholm ripped thirty feet into the starboard side of the Doria. When the Stockholm finally broke loose from the still-moving Doria, she left a gaping forty-foot hole in the Doria’s side. When tons of seawater roared in, her 1700 passengers and crew were instantly thrown into mass confusion and fear.
Yet, out of that disastrous night came a survival story so unusual that to this day it’s still spoken of with amazement. Fourteen-year-old Linda Morgan was traveling aboard the Doria with her mother, her stepfather, and her stepsister. She and her stepsister were asleep in their 1st Class cabin when the crash occurred, which knocked Linda unconscious. Somehow, as the razor-sharp bow of the Stockholm pierced the Doria, then tore loose from her, Linda, lying in her bed amid a mass of splintered wood and twisted steel, ended up alive, deep within the Stockholm’s shattered bow.
Thankfully, other survivors were rescued that night by other ships. When the Doria finally sank the following morning, her sinking was worldwide news. And Linda was dubbed “The Miracle Girl” by the press. Her incredible deliverance, to this day, still defies human explanation. In the years following the sinking, however, Linda suffered from survivor’s guilt due to the deaths of her stepfather and half-sister. Her mother survived but was badly injured.
Linda’s deliverance was truly incredible, but not all such stories end on a happy note. When we seem to be on a collision course with life, due to a betrayal, financial problems, a death and its grief, family difficulties, or a temptation that engulfs us in thick fog, we must remember that Father God’s children are not always spared from life’s foggy storms.
The Good Book teaches us something far better though—Father God is present in the storm! He is sovereign over it. And He is faithful to bring us through it. The Prophet Isaiah once said: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee…” Please notice the promise is not “if” but “when.” Father God knows the foggy waters may rise around us, but He also promises His presence will not leave us.
I am thankful for the times that Father God did just that—held me up in the foggy waters that surrounded me. In my Bible, I’ve written down the many times that I knew Father God saved me from certain disaster. From a fast-moving car running a red light, to Katrina’s aftermath. From calling my dear mother Home when he did, to protecting me when I was thirteen and approached by a man at the Edgewater Mall who I now know was a child predator. And from the hurt and pain of false relationships, to saving me while I was trying to save someone from drowning.
But what about the times when Father God protects us from life’s foggy nights when we don’t even realize it? I praise Him for those times more than the other times. Do you? We should never forget to praise Him for the collisions He blocks before they tear us apart. And when engulfed by life’s fog, we should never forget that He sends unseen angels to guard our steps. “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways,”
Linda Morgan did not engineer her survival. She did not calculate the angle of the Stockholm’s bow, or time the precise second of impact. Nor did she know how to place herself in safety. Her story is a reminder that human ingenuity has its limits. But Father God’s divine intervention does not! Remember, dear ones, we cannot always see future dangers, predict the trials to come, or explain the rescue. We can, however, trust the Father who sees what we cannot see.
Proverbs tells us: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Our human understanding is limited, but His wisdom is eternal. Our view is foggy. His vision is perfect. Our strength is small. But His arm is mighty to save in the foggy waters of life.
Ponder this and go forth.
