A port in a storm

There comes a time when you just have to admit that the Lord really does know exactly what you are going through:

Yesterday I wrote the very first page of my PhD dissertation. Today was supposed to be the second in my projected path of organized study, ie: translate Hebrew, read/study, lunch, write, seminar/class, dinner, read/study. All went well until I turned on my computer...

My computer is possessed of an evil spirit! It has a mind of its own! It is a bad tempered 5 year old who wants its own way!

The computer announced that my profile was not configured properly (whatever that meant) and that anything I did would be lost when powered down. It had completely reconfigured itself and ALL my files were GONE!

I ran upstairs to see if the lone techie-sort in the Religion department was in - he and his wife are in Spain. I packed up and headed to the IT desk in the library. The diagnosis was not horrible - all my files, etc were still there - but they had all shifted to another section of the computer and would have to manually be reset individually. I shut of the sucker and dejectedly walked back to the office. I decided I would not allow this to destroy my plans - I'd just do more reading, but there is only so much reading you can do in a day.

And then there was this afternoon's seminar - on the birth narrative in Mathew 2. yuck. What I did understand I did not agree with - Why is it that biblical women are always either wrong, Gentile, illicit, sexually perverse or just not as good as men - when MEN usually get with the program AFTER the women! Anyway, to keep my mouth shut I started flipping through scriptures.

I ended up in Psalms 107 and saw:

23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

24 These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Sitting there I realized I am one of those who go down to the sea to ride the great waves of studying with all it's wonders. This is definitely not going to be easy and much of it, tossed up by the Lord, will bring me to my wits' end. But, it will all be worth it because the desired haven IS POSSIBLE and it WILL be there when I am done.

PS: The computer reset all by it's little self after a 10 hour time out on the corner of my desk, which is why I get to record all this tonight.