May Day
“April showers bring May flowers, and do you know what May flowers bring? Mayflowers bring pilgrims.” My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Coffee, shared this with the class with bright countenance. On May 1st we open our books to study the Pilgrims’ adventures in the New World. I wonder what the pilgrims felt when they finally reached shore. Did they kiss the sandy beach? Did they pray and praise God for arriving safely? How did they know the place they stood could flourish? We know they travelled to this hostile and potentially hospitable land to freely worship God. These eager and optimistic people wanted to start a new community from scratch.
I’m sitting here at my computer writing a blog from scratch. However, I am drinking my hot coffee with Snickers flavored creamer with a touch of sugar. My challenge is not finding wood to build a fire to cook the fish caught in the bay. I have Gordon’s frozen fish filets in the oven at 425 degrees. I need not worry about searching for my daily water ration to quench my thirst. I have my Brita pitcher filled with filtered water in the refrigerator. Starting from scratch seems to feel a bit of a stretch.
Well, you get the picture. Life is good and I have no reason to complain. I’m wonder nevertheless why starting something new, starting over, or thinking in a different way feels so dire. Writing fresh thoughts challenges me but I still try. I stab at constructing a story worth a reader’s time. Will word on the screen transport the person to the shores of new insight. I take a gamble!
This gamble could be like dice hitting one another down the felted craps table. Two thoughts tumble in the recesses of my mind, and both competing for attend. First thought, why am I putting myself at risk? (Vulnerable). Second thought, I have the grit to do it. (Courage). Courage and Vulnerability make a good marriage. The Pilgrims believed in this kind of marriage. Mrs. Coffee’s character exhibited this quality. Her stately presence and approachability co-existed in a sparkling way.
Recent social media news reports the possible finding Amelia Earhart’s plane at long last. We won’t know for sure until an expedition ventures the three-mile depth of the Pacific Ocean whether it’s her 1937 Lockheed Electra. Why does Amelia’s story stir up such fascination? Courage! Risk! She is known for many things other than being lost in the expansive ocean. She led the way as an adventurer, aviation pioneer, and feminist. She inspired others to have the courage to start something new. She counted the cost and believed she could fly solo around the world. In many ways she helped change the world to make it a better place. Her final 1937 radio transmissions gave Deep Sea Vision the likely area where they might locate the plane. I imagine she desperately wanted to find Howland Island before running out of fuel. Amelia’s last frantic words over the radio might have been May Day, May Day, but her efforts to be heard and rescued failed.
Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “It’s better to have tried and failed than to live life wondering what would’ve happened if I had tried.” Alfred gives us a provoking thought to ponder, “I wonder what would’ve happened if I had tried.”
What might the cost be If you did not try? How have you held back yourself back from trying something new, being the you God created you to be? Why have you let the safe path become the damning one? When will you risk and call for help? Live life with courage and take the risk. You might find God gave you the strength to reach the new world, which is the new and improved you – the Real you.