Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

After the Titanic survivors were picked up by the Carpathia it is said that it was a rather quiet place.

No laughing and jeering.

No joy and excitement, as she pulled into New York Harbor laden with survivors who were still experiencing the shock of what had happened just over 48 hours before. There was no ticker tape parade waiting.

Instead there were lines of ambulances waiting and crowds who had come to see the survivors of the Unsinkable sinking.

I never really gave that element much thought until the time silence pervaded our home after its own metaphorical sinking.

We had experienced a particularly bad day, resulting in Martins of all manner sleeping in different places. It continues to be the single most gut-wrenching family event of 2019. When I awoke that ominous day to realize it was real, not a bad dream at all, my attempt at normal was immediately a failure.

Routine, the normal things of life, doomed from the start. I sat down at the table for my time in the King’s Word. My time to study, to reflect, to pray, and to ponder. I couldn’t do it. I attempted to eat my usual cereal breakfast and I couldn’t do it. I gagged on my squares of rice and pushed my books aside. I couldn’t do it.

Silence was all I could hear.

The shock had not worn off yet and I just couldn’t. That particular day is cemented in my mind as a doozy, an attempt at not even normal but survival. Sub-par living at its finest.

Sleep would be elusive in the days to come, but I would find, sleepless nights like the previous one would be reduced in frequency. It would be a long while before I would awaken refreshed. But the following day I didn’t wake up silenced by shock and I didn’t gag in my cereal. Two small victories so I opted to try again with my study and while I didn’t knock it out of the park and may not be comfortable sharing some of my answers out loud, I took a baby step of faith and completed my homework from my Bible study. In doing so I took steps to press in and press on and to trust that tomorrow just might be a bit better than the previous day.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9 NASB