Where the Ordinary Meets the Sublime

The other day, I placed a cat carrier on Facebook Marketplace. Yes, I still have Sunshine, for those who know and love my calico friend, but in my constant minimizing, I found we had two carriers from when we had two cats and moved from Massachusetts to Colorado.

The woman who bought it, was friendly and shared that she too was soon headed West on her own adventure with a new husband, a young child, and a cat. Our conversation expanded when I said something like, “Leaving home and living in Colorado for a decade resulted in tremendous growth, personally, professionally and spiritually.”

She picked up on the spiritual part, so I told her about some great churches she could check out in Denver, then hopped in my car, and with the transmission already in reverse, added a quick invitation to my home church until she left on her quest.

Hold that thought.

This summer I had the privilege of a week’s vacation in Bermuda. One hot day we took the local bus to the Dockyards and explored the cool, dim museum chocked with Bermudian history and artifacts. I learned that although Bermuda was discovered by Juan de Bermudez, a Spanish explorer, in the 1500’s, it wasn’t settled until 1609 by the crew of the Sea Venture, a British ship on the way to resupply Jamestown, the first British enterprise in America established in 1607, then foundering with fevers and starvation.

However, the Sea Venture was driven off course by a hurricane and shipwrecked on the coral reefs surrounding the pink beaches and turquoise waters of Bermuda. The passengers and crew were able to get safely to the island which provided wild pigs, fish, birds, and tropical fruit as well as abundant cedar trees for rebuilding their vessel. In a year’s time, Jamestown was resupplied with Bermuda’s bounty, and the story of the Sea Venture’s wreck and survival made its way back to England.

One more fascinating tidbit I hadn’t known before, Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, was inspired by the wreck of the Sea Venture.

In fourth grade, I learned about Jamestown and its miserable beginnings. I had to memorize various Spanish explorers and their New World conquests. As a high school English student, I was introduced to William Shakespeare and his literary masterpieces. But I wasn’t aware that any of these Elizabethan figures and events were laced together.

Now, let ‘s get back to the mundane sale of my cat carrier. Two weeks after our seemingly haphazard meeting, the young woman contacted me again on Facebook and said she’d love to come to my church. Surprised and delighted, I met her and her family at the door. They sat with me, and after the sermon, the pastor’s daughter came over to greet her. Turns out they went to high school together.

Whether the young woman comes back to my church again is out of my control. How she responds to the gospel, also out of my realm. What will happen on her adventure out West, unknown to us both.

But of this I am sure, our meeting was what I call a divine appointment, a series of separate connections stitched together by the sovereign hand of God. So,

“If someone asks you about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way.”

1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)

For The Lord is the one who turns all our stories into His masterpiece. As believers, we are the mysterious conduit between the ordinary and the sublime, and you never know when your shipwreck will be the salvation of another.

Copyright 2022 Ann C. Averill

Cover photo by dino-reichmuth on Unsplash