On a sunny morning this July, I was sitting on a bench at Little Cates Park that overlooks the Indian Arm inlet.
As I did, a boat sped past me on the open waters, which of course created an immediate wake in the vicinity of the boat. About a minute later, those waves arrived on the shoreline, crashing against the rocks and washing up on the pebbly beach.
It was a normal, everyday occurrence, but it struck me that the boat was well out of sight when its disturbance was experienced by the shore.
In my experience, it is a very human thing to long for a legacy, to want our lives to make an impact on others. Some of us may even desire a legacy that will impact people we don’t know, that will spread beyond our small circle of family and friends and touch far-reaching places. Others have less ambitious visions. In any case, we want our lives to count for something. I want my life to count for something.
That boat at Little Cates Park reminded me that how much one’s life “counts for something” will usually not be immediately obvious. I pray that my work as a pastor here in Deep Cove will have a deeply positive impact, but it may be that the waves I create will not be experienced by many people until decades in the future, when I am no longer serving in this way.
I think here about some words (former St. Simon’s Church) pastor Ed Hird spoke to me a couple of months ago. He had dropped in to talk with me about assuming this column in the wake (catch that?) of his retirement.
In the course of conversation, he mentioned a line from a letter that the early Christian leader Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Corinth: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”
The hope that Ed and I share, along with many others, is that the various ways we serve God are not in vain. We might not see immediate results, but it may be that God is using our lives to generate waves unforeseen by us.
However, that boat at Little Cates also reminded me that the goal of life is not to make waves. Maybe that boat was heading for a destination, maybe it was on the water for the joy of the owner, but to make waves would be a strange purpose, wouldn’t it?
Waves were a by-product of whatever primary purpose that trip served. And so it is that when my life is devoted to the purpose I was created for – which I understand to be knowing God and making Him known through my words and deeds – waves will be created.
That morning, I was reminded to focus on steering faithfully with the guidance and direction of my Captain and trust that the waves will take care of themselves.
Perhaps this can be a helpful reminder for you today, too. ■
Craig Thiessen is the lead pastor of The Bridge Church, which meets Sundays, 10 a.m., at the BlueShore Centre at CapU. The church hopes to begin construction on a new church home at 1384 Deep Cove Rd. within the next year.
