A prayer partner sent me a word of encouragement a couple of days ago, in which he used the word “doldrums”. It got me thinking about the meaning of the word. I know that it often refers to a period of stagnation or depression, but at the back of my mind I knew that it had a nautical meaning as well (probably as a result of too many old black and white pirate films in my youth), so I did a little research.
It turns out that my memory isn’t as bad as some might think! The “doldrums” refers to an area of the oceans, that stretches from roughly 5 degrees north to 5 degrees south of the equator. It’s more scientific title is the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). In this zone, as a result of the convergence of the northern and southern trade winds there is often no wind. It is also know as an area of very heavy storms, with the hot sun causing vast amounts of water to be forced up into the atmosphere where the weather systems are colliding, resulting in spectacular downpours. In the era of sailing ships, and even today in round the world sailing races, ships could be stuck there for weeks on end. It was known as a potentially deadly area, with ships often running low on supplies, including water, resulting in scurvy, delirium and cabin fever setting in.
The word of encouragement I received was very timely, as in recent weeks we have felt that we are stuck. We know that we are on a journey, but the wind that has been blowing us seems to have disappeared, all timescales have gone, we’ve been running low on supplies, delirium and cabin fever have set in (I know that cabin fever has been an issue for many over the last year, as they have struggled with mental health issues - they’ve been in the doldrums, a period of stagnation and depression). When you are able to take a slight step back and recognise the symptoms and the situation that you are in, it’s the first step to being able to deal with it!
The encouragement went on to say that God often allows us to wait for periods, not because He’s busy, but because His timing is perfect. It went on to say that spring is almost here and life is about to bloom. It reminded me of a sermon I recently heard that said that there are many examples in the Bible where God moves suddenly. So, we have given up wondering how we will get a house for Time2, and stopped trying to make it happen ourselves. When the time is right, it will happen suddenly. As happens in the doldrums, suddenly a wind will start blowing again.
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