Now You See It....Now You Don't

[john11]

The Fitz

The Fitz? Don’t you mean the Ritz? Who or what is “The Fitz” ?

The Fitz as in the Edmund Fitzgerald once a very large ore carrier on the Great Lakes. Check out the book: “The Gales of November” By John U. Bacon and the Gordon Lightfoot song: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Seriously, the book is a compelling story of the ship, the crew and the crew’s loved ones and how the Fitz affected lives and the culture and operation of an entire industry.

I just finished reading the book and could hardly put it down. I’m not going to give away anything – just read the book to understand the song.

Then reflect:

• How many events have songs written about them?

• What does having a song memorializing an event say about the event?

• Reflect on the impact of The Fitz on the culture of an industry and significant government agencies.

One thing:

• Have you ever had a ”…now you see it… and now you don’t…” moment in your life?

• How hard for an aircraft carrier instantly vanish from the surface of the sea? A carrier visible on radar and through binoculars. You look around for a moment and it isn’t. In the time, usually seconds, for the radar antenna to rotate it vanished. Not there! Where did it go? Just us stunned, confused and perhaps terrified people driving around on the ocean. One whole aircraft carrier gone…vanished. Has , metaphorically, an aircraft carrier ever vanished… now you see it and now you don’t… in your life?

I’m crazy, you say because vanishing aircraft carrier sized stuff never happens in life, right? Never any “…now you see it… and now you don’t…”

Really?

Seriously?

You actually believe the stuff of life can never be snatched away just like that, gone in an instant.

• A good friend is riding a bicycle, struck by a car and dies on the spot.

• You walk into the HR office…”Clean out your desk, John. You do not work for us any more”. Three sinkings for me.

• I’ve been around for awhile and collected more of these events, they are not even hard to find.

• Your life long friend, a paragon of the activities for good health, suffers a fatal heart attack on his daily run.

• Think about your life for a moment. Suddenly a part of your life seemingly vanished in an instant. Be honest. How did you respond in the moment? What did you think? Especially, how did you feel? These feelings and thoughts, older or newer, have impacted your life.

Stuff happens and parts of our lives vanish instantly, never to return.

So, how to cope and move on?

Even better, how to cope and move as a Christ follower?

Once I get The Fitz – Part 2 sorted out a little better I’ll be back.

Till then

• open the Scripture

• pray and ask for God’s help when an vanishing aircraft carrier event strikes your life

• ask around about vanishing aircraft carrier events

• see what wisdom, comfort and help is found in other Christ followers

• share in this community

I’m open to suggestions, comments and your thoughts.

Shalom

John

PS

Penn and Teller, on national TV, made the Disneyland castle vanish.

Poof, now you see it and then you don’t.

[Carson]

Hey @john11,

What a sobering post! It’s crazy that a 729 foot ship just sunk in minutes.

My ”…now you see it… and now you don’t…” moment is when I read the RZIM board of directors statement in the fall of 2020.

I had thought these were people unusually dedicated to the truth. But I read their statement and saw it was all about loyalty to Ravi.

My heart sank, and I wondered if RZIM would find its way to doing what was right. As it turned out, it didn’t, and that ended up costing me (and many others) our jobs.

As I tried to find my footing after resigning as a whistleblower in 2021, my first reaction was shock and grief - and questioning my faith. Why would God allow this to happen? If these people couldn’t be counted on, who could?

It took a lot of time with my friends (and a counselor) to inch back to God.

[lakshmi]

Hi @john11

Welcome to the community! Thank you for starting this discussion. I think one of the hardest things in life is facing sudden losses and circumstances we could never have truly planned for. One of my own “now you see it, now you don’t” moments came when I had to step away from a scientific research career that I had pursued before marriage. The Lord graciously answered my prayers for a Christian husband after nearly a decade of waiting, but I did not foresee how our family circumstances would eventually make it difficult for me to continue along the career path I had spent years studying for.

As I transitioned into staying home, I began to recognize how deeply our culture values independence and achievement, something I too had unconsciously absorbed. God used that season to teach me that His perspective is very different from the world’s. In our culture, accomplishments often become the basis of identity, belonging and worth. In Christ, it is not so. As Christians we are to find our identity and belonging in Christ’s love poured out for us at the cross. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:30). We can find rest in His steadfast love that endures forever.

[Michaela]

Woah @john11!

I had to do a double take when I read your post. As I was reading and reflecting on “now you see it… and now you don’t…” moments in my life, I thought of my friend Renée Griffith Grantham. The very first example you give was that of a good friend who was killed immediately while riding a bicycle. That is exactly how Renée went to be with the Lord on April 15, 2024, at just 34 years old.

Renée’s story is inseparable from her husband Mark, who also knows something about “now you see it… and now you don’t” moments. Mark was a healthy, outdoorsy 24-year-old when a single moment in a swimming accident caused him to become a C5 quadriplegic. In an instant, the life he had known was gone. Now you see it… and now you don’t.

Mark refused to let that moment define him. He found ways back onto the trails, into hunting stands, and out onto the water. He shared his story to inspire others. Somewhere along the way, God brought Renée into his life. Renée was no ordinary woman. She valedictorian, a summa cum laude graduate of Evangel University, a licensed Assemblies of God minister, a theology professor, a triathlon competitor, a track and cross-country coach, a missionary who had served in Moldova and Russia, and a gifted writer.

Together Mark and Renée wrote, spoke, and adventured. They founded Ozark Wheelchair Adventures, a nonprofit bringing outdoor therapeutic recreation to others with spinal cord injuries. And then on an ordinary day, Renée was gone at 34. Mark, the man who had already once lost everything in an instant, found himself facing that moment again. A quadriplegic without his bride, his co-writer, his adventuring partner, his best friend.

I don’t know a more vivid picture of how fragile and fleeting this life truly is or of how we must hold every single day with open, grateful hands. Renée left behind a legacy of loving God and loving others.

Mark has coped by continuing to share Renée’s story and continue on in the faithfulness God has called him to.