Fullness of Senses

Journal 2005 11 09
Fullness of Senses

“our camp entirely under water dureing the hight of the tide, every man as wet as water could make them all the last night and to day all day as the rain Continued all day, at 4 oClock P M the wind Shifted about to the S. W. and blew with great violence imediately from the Ocian for about two hours, notwithstanding the disagreeable Situation of our party all wet and Cold (and one which they have experienced for Several days past) they are chearfull and anxious to See further into the Ocian, The water of the river being too Salt to use we are obliged to make use of rain water—    Some of the party not accustomed to Salt water has made too free a use of it on them it acts as pergitive.
 
       at this dismal point we must Spend another night as the wind & waves are too high to proceed.”

I am going to be on a recurring theme for a while. Finishing strong and strong resistance to finishing.

The party can no longer drink the river water because it is being mixed with sea water and for those who tempted nature it is acting as a “pergutive.” They are anxious to see the ocean in its fullness. They are so close they can smell it. The object of their expedition is so close they can literally taste it. And now they want to see it, touch it and hear it.

I have hunted elk on the first little hill above Long Beach, WA. Our intrepid explorers will venture that far north later in the winter. What I remember most is hearing the waves crashing on the seashore as I snuck quietly through the thick underbrush under a dense canopy of trees. My wandering mind formed pictures that made me want to put on buckskins and carry a Harper’s Ferry flintlock in .54 caliber like the great hunter Drouillard would have done two hundred years before.

Our travelers are so close to the object of their desire that all their senses are alive to its nearness. For those who are married reading this, you know the true delight when the object of your desire is so close all your senses are filled with the essence of their being. The expeditioners want nothing more than to press to the finish line and swim in the waters of the Pacific as they celebrate their great victory.

But anything great requires great obstacles to its achievement. The Great Falls of the Missouri. The Rocky Mountains. Great obstacles. Now the power of the Pacific Ocean stands at the finish line.

Captain Clark records their perilous predicament in a matter of fact tone that belies the danger they are in. For the past two days winds, rain, a raging tide with the waves that accompany it are unleashing everything in their power to wash every trace of this small party off the rocky river bank where they have retreated for refuge.

And yet they are “chearful and anxious” to see the Ocean! What would we be like if our perilous camp had been pounded by wind and rain, submerged all night and we were “as wet as water could make us”? Fearful? Anxious to retreat, not advance? Complaining? Ready to quit? Not the Corps. They were ready to proceed on and complete that which they had labored so hard to attain.

Have you labored hard? Are you laboring hard now? Have you advanced toward your goal? Can you “smell” victory? (When you smell elk, which smell like a barnyard, you know they are near and all the rest of your senses jump to a higher level of alertness.) Let your senses increase and drive you past the obstacles that stand in your way of achieving that which you have labored so hard to achieve. Great achievement requires great effort, otherwise it would not be great.

The Apostle Paul gave us another record of persevering through any and all hardship because of the greatness of the reward. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul urges them to follow his example as he has followed Christ’s of considering hardship and suffering as nothing but dog poop in the quest to achieve the high calling of life in the Kingdom of God both now and into eternity. We have many examples throughout history of the hardships endured to achieve remarkable feats. All pale in comparison to the work of Jesus on the Cross bringing redemption from sin and eternal life.

Allow today’s example to bring “chearfulness” to the press to finish no matter the obstacles attempting to submerge your efforts.

Let’s proceed on and finish strong!