Ash Breeze

“Bah!  Only a weakling gives up when he’s becalmed!  A strong man sails by ash breeze!”

….

Nat asked, “How do you ‘sail by ash breeze’?”

Sam grinned.  “When a ship is becalmed-- the wind died down--she can’t move-- sometimes the sailors break out their oars.  They’ll row a boat ahead of the ship and tow her.  Or they’ll carry out anchors and heave them over, and the crew will lean on the capstan bars and drag the ship up to where the anchors are heaved over.  Oars are made of ash-white ash.  So-when you get ahead by your own get-up-and-get—that’s when you sail by ash breeze.”

page 47and 48 of Carry On, Mr. Bowditch! By Jean Lee Latham

Recently our family just finished reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch!  It had been a read-aloud before but it is such an inspiring biography that is worth reading again.  Although Nathaniel Bowditch was taken out of school at age 10, he still managed to win success with perseverant hard work. 

This idea of hard work has been reinforced by another book we have been reading.  Alexie and I finished reading Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington.  Booker T. Washington shared his task of teaching African-Americans that work was not a disgrace but a calling and teaching them how to do their work well.  While he realized that laws should apply equally to African-Americans and whites, he wanted to train African-Americans to strive for excellence and become people worthy of their neighbors respect.  He says “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.”  If laws allow uneducated whites to vote but not uneducated blacks, then the whites are the ones who suffer because they have no motivation to get educated.  Our circumstances do not determine who we are; it’s what we do with them.

Our assigned chapter of A Christian’s Secret to A Happy Life talked about circumstances as well.  Often, people think that accepting Jesus will clear away all their problems.  Many people believe a blessing gospel which says accept Jesus, and your mortgage will go away, you will be extremely fit, your boss will give you a raise, and everyone will like you.  They forget that God promised us persecution.  He told us to take up our cross and follow Him.  How can we relate to non-Christians if everything goes perfect for us?  Still, God promised He would be with us every step of the way.  He will never give us more than we can bear.  He won’t get rid of our bad circumstances but He will give us triumph over them.

My heart broke for a young lady at Sabangan but she also inspired me.  Her goal is to earn an education so she can help support her family.  She feels like her relatives look down on her family as if they were just a group of ants.  She is struggling with algebra.  Her parents never finished high school so they can’t help her.  One of her brothers has a talent for math but he chooses to work in the field instead of studying.  When she was little, she was told that the Philippines was a developing country.  Why has nothing changed?  But only the persistent hard work of such as her will ever change it.  When I left Sabangan, I determined that I, who have so much more with two home-schooling parents, would work harder and not give into my laziness.

So what are your dreams?  Your desires?  Your purpose in life?  I encourage you to first make sure they are right and good and then to fight through your difficulties to reach them.  Ask someone to pray for you and most importantly, don’t give up.  If the wind won’t blow the right way, break out your oars and sail by ash breeze.

If what you’re doing is good and right

Do not fear the enemies’ might

Just do your best

And God will do the rest.

Love,

Adriana

“Character, not circumstances, makes the man.”
Booker T. Washington

Read more:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/booker_t_washington.html#ixzz1eDiJc0KL

          “Circumstances make men kings in the outer life, but in this hidden life men become kings over circumstances.”

~The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith