In The Doldrums
The "doldrums" : a popular nautical term that refers to the belt around the Earth near the equator where sailing ships sometimes get stuck on windless waters
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Sometimes we find ourselves ‘in the doldrums’, spiritually it’s a place that’s feels flat, calm, a bit empty and quiet. We can find ourselves missing previous times of spiritual excitement, passion and adventure, it’s a hard place to navigate. What can we do to help ourselves whilst we wait for the wind to pick up again, how do we keep our strength up so we are ready to move forwards again when the time is right?
Spend some time quietly reading this poem and imagining your own experience of finding yourself in the doldrums. Use the idea of turning your own secret stores of promises and memories into prayers, whilst you wait for the Spirit to stir again on the water…
Coming through the doldrums…
I’ve known the feeling of the wind in my sails, your Spirit falling,
Ushering me along,
A sense of journey.
So I know these listless days will not last,
A change will come, but till then,
Stillness,
Becalmed,
Long times of waiting, listless waiting.
I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130 v5
But it feels like a journey halted,
with no idea when help will come.
One day is ok, but when days become weeks,
Straining to hear or see a difference in the weather,
an opportunity to set sail again.
“We need a fresh wind, the fragrance of heaven,
pour your spirit out…”
I know how this could unfold,
the boredom of the waiting,
the frustration of not hearing,
the disappointment when You don’t turn up.
So what can I do?
Could I have prepared for this place,
packed my bags with supplies to see me through?
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42.11
What reserves do I have?
A secret store of food and water
for days like these.
A pocket of promises
A store of stories
A thousand times when I heard you and myriad of memories of when you walked alongside me,
All carefully hidden away,
ready for these times I am in. Sustenance…
Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. Psalm 119
Ruach, Spirit, moving over the water,
I go back to You there to the beginning
and in my imagining, while I wait I pray.
And I build my prayer
with what I have to hand.
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Promises, stories and memories.
I feed on these precious, collected, life giving treasures.
I drink deep draughts, slowly replenishing hope.
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 1 Chronicles 11
Checking my sails are repaired, ready,
I watch for tiny movements on the water, wavelets, whispers, Spirit in me,
Ruach, Mystery. And I pray.
“Awaken my soul, come awake
To hunger, to seek, to thirst
Awaken first love, come awake
And do as You did, at first
Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me
Come wake me from my sleep
Blow through the caverns of my soul
Pour in me to overflow
To overflow…”
Contributor: Jane Reeves