Sermon In A Winter Harbor
By George Thurlow
I watched a harbor ice cake
Drifting down river with the tide;
Slowly inching towards the shore
Without progress though it tried.
For every time it neared the shore
A wave would wash it back:
At the mercy of the current strong
For its own power it did lack.
It's goal was to reach the pleasant beach
But the tide was too strong for it.
It had no way to direct itself
And reach the sandy spit.
Then the waters suddenly rippled
As a breeze began to blow.
The boats in the harbor swung about
With their bows now facing out.
Soon the drifting ice cake
Was driven by greater force
And sailed along without effort
Coming to rest upon the shore.
How similar in our lives,
Good intentions there may be,
Without the power of the Holy Ghost
We're only drifting in the sea.
The current of this earthly life
Would try to drag us out to sea,
Were it not for the Spirit's power
Available to you and me.
We can reach our destination
And accomplish mighty goals;
As we yield to the Holy Spirit
And give Him complete control.
This poem was inspired as I was sitting in my van having fellowship with the Lord at the mouth of the Saco River at Camp Ellis one February morn. As I watched the diving ducks and floating ice cakes, the struggle of this one particular ice cake caught my attention. The Lord spoke to me through this scene.
