Personal story - transforminglife

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October 2005

Personal story - transforminglife

Learning to work the winds and the tides – a lesson learnt by Peter Atkins Snr

Recently, I found myself admitted to hospital at the end of a Sunday in which I had sought to be ‘about the Lord’s business’. In the course of going to ring the church bell at Bruny Island, I had slipped and fell with the result – a broken ankle.

My mind began to race in respect of, why? It has also always intrigued me to see how God is able to take the harder issues of life and to turn them to good. It is like a lesson in sailing where you have to learn to ‘work the winds and the tides.’

My first lesson resulted in a huge dose of empathy towards those who have met some crisis in life and are forced to reckon with the consequences of illness, terminal disease, broken limbs, shattered lives etc. I was now in a position to know from first hand experience and it was not pleasant.

Secondly, I began to ask myself about the welfare of those around me. Who could this mean more than the guy who had become my roommate? He had been due for discharge, but slipped and fell with a knee that had just been reconstructed. This meant a delay to his discharge. That evening, when he should have been home, I took the opportunity of sharing with him something of what it means to have a living faith in Jesus Christ.

In simple terms, I was able to share with him the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and how he could respond to what Christ had done for Him, by His sacrificial death on the Cross. The end result was that in prayer together, my new-found friend asked Christ into his life. The following morning, I was curious to test whether or not the experience of the previous night had meant anything of significance. To my question as to how he felt, his reply was, ‘I feel as though I have been given a new life.’

What a reminder of St Paul’s words, ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, behold old things have passed away.’

In a down day of my own experience, I was reading in Jeremiah 29. It gives an account of the Lord’s dealings with the Israelites and his counsel in exile, where he basically tells them to get on with the business of living. (Jeremiah 29:4-6)

God’s word to me (in my limited ‘exile’) was in verse 7: And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.

And of course it goes on to v12. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’

Yes, in Christian experience, we can also learn to ‘work the winds and the tides.

The Rev. Peter Atkins has 'retired' to Bruny Island where he is still active in ministry.

	The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search
	a healthy church...transformingLIFE
	Home About Contact us News Issues Parishes Prayer Calendar Youth Resources

				October 2005

		Personal story - transforminglife Learning to work the winds and the tides – a lesson learnt by Peter Atkins Snr Recently, I found myself admitted to hospital at the end of a Sunday in which I had sought to be ‘about the Lord’s business’. In the course of going to ring the church bell at Bruny Island, I had slipped and fell with the result – a broken ankle. My mind began to race in respect of, why? It has also always intrigued me to see how God is able to take the harder issues of life and to turn them to good. It is like a lesson in sailing where you have to learn to ‘work the winds and the tides.’ My first lesson resulted in a huge dose of empathy towards those who have met some crisis in life and are forced to reckon with the consequences of illness, terminal disease, broken limbs, shattered lives etc. I was now in a position to know from first hand experience and it was not pleasant. Secondly, I began to ask myself about the welfare of those around me. Who could this mean more than the guy who had become my roommate? He had been due for discharge, but slipped and fell with a knee that had just been reconstructed. This meant a delay to his discharge. That evening, when he should have been home, I took the opportunity of sharing with him something of what it means to have a living faith in Jesus Christ. In simple terms, I was able to share with him the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and how he could respond to what Christ had done for Him, by His sacrificial death on the Cross. The end result was that in prayer together, my new-found friend asked Christ into his life. The following morning, I was curious to test whether or not the experience of the previous night had meant anything of significance. To my question as to how he felt, his reply was, ‘I feel as though I have been given a new life.’ What a reminder of St Paul’s words, ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, behold old things have passed away.’ In a down day of my own experience, I was reading in Jeremiah 29. It gives an account of the Lord’s dealings with the Israelites and his counsel in exile, where he basically tells them to get on with the business of living. (Jeremiah 29:4-6) God’s word to me (in my limited ‘exile’) was in verse 7: And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. And of course it goes on to v12. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’ Yes, in Christian experience, we can also learn to ‘work the winds and the tides. The Rev. Peter Atkins has 'retired' to Bruny Island where he is still active in ministry.