The Gift of Ships

One of the many ships we have visited. This is the USS Norfolk in Virginia. 

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Kathy King

The Gift of Ships

“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them.  Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.”

The sea, the ships, they can be vast and wide. 

Rocking the ship from side to side. 

The waves can be big, overwhelming, and quite strong.

But the ship never sinks, it just sails along.

Why do you think that boat never sinks?

It is built to withstand the biggest waves, the biggest crests, and be tossed about.

The boat continues to sail, even when the weather is fraught.

Build yourself a ship where none of those waves come in, you can be tossed and even get some sprays of water, but you won’t give in or sink.

Even when you are sailing on calm seas, you have no worries, your soul is at ease.

Build yourself a ship that shores up your spirit, soul, and mind.

Show others how to make a ship that can withstand even the toughest waves.

Be their example so that when those huge waves come in, the water stays in the sea and you never give in.

Have you ever watched some of the reels of boats and military vessels on social media?  I am not one to be on the open sea but those fishing boats, those frigates, aircraft carriers, etc… they take on some HUGE waves.  It is kind of scary to watch.  I do subscribe to a maritime page where they show these waves just pummeling the ships.  The water does indeed come over the bow and stern but it abates quickly and the ship stays afloat.  Why do you think that is?  It is all in the construction of the ship.  The construction is precise.  How much dead weight, how much equipment is needed to function, how much machinery is needed to operate.  These are just a few of the undertakings of the construction of a ship.  After that, there must be decisions made with both latitude and longitude so that the ship can maintain balance. To add to that tonnage is taken into consideration, (how much weight will be on there) and then there are considerations for the bulkhead (partitions that separate compartments) this ensures stability while the ship is at sea.  This is a very elementary explanation of ships.  It is really quite intricate and fascinating.  Having had family in the Navy, I have been on an aircraft carrier, destroyer, and even a submarine.  Each ship was fascinating.  To say that they are huge floating cities would be an understatement.  I marveled at the levels of the ship.  There are multiple kitchens, there are so many places to sleep, it is like a maze of a big city contained on a ship.  Then the deck of the aircraft carrier.  WOW! That is huge.  All of these ships stay afloat.  Sure, there are rules.  When the seas are particularly rough the exterior watertight doors are kept shut so that the ship can stay afloat.  Again, it is all in the design.  How is your ship designed? Do you have too much ballast? Too much on your bow and not enough in your stern?  Are there sufficient bulkheads to give those strong partitions when rough seas do come?  How do you relate this to life?  Well, it is all in the balance of making sure you can stay afloat.  Will you be tossed about with big waves?  Absolutely.  But if your construction is strong you will crest those waves with ease. One fascinating yet terrible story is that of the Titanic. It was deemed “Unsinkable” by its designers. The wanton hubris of the designers to think that they knew enough about the construction to deem it as such was interesting, even during 1912. To those who are not familiar with the story, basically on its maiden voyage the ship sank. Thousands of lives were lost to the icy Atlantic Ocean all because of many small miscalculations. First, they were warned repeatedly that there were icebergs ahead, those warnings were not headed. When the danger came they were unable to turn the ship in time. When they hit, six of the sixteen compartments were flooded. The ship was only designed to stay afloat with four. There were not enough lifeboats, and to top it off the ship sank quite quickly for such a monstrous vessel. What does this story teach us? To listen to the warnings ahead. To be open to the advice of others who have wisdom to impart. To shore up that your compartments won’t be overwhelmed when the iceberg of life is dead ahead. 

This also teaches us humility. To always be open to learning from our mistakes and others. We do not hold the cornerstone of truth in our hands. In fact, sometimes those truths will be hard to take but necessary to repair our ship. So much of our society has been wrapped up in tribalism. It is time to re-enforce the ship of truth so that we may sail on to peace and unity. 

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Case of the Missing Moo-Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Clean it Up! Wash it Up!

Coming soon!

Appalachian Allegory: A Southern Novel

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