It’s the first day of May already! When I was in elementary school, I remember May 1st was called May Day and we would go into the gymnasium and do some dance around the “maypole”. I never really knew why we did it but if it got me out of class, I was happy! Apparently, there is a great deal of controversy on its origin and some even say it’s a pagan ritual. Does it really matter? I’m not dancing around a maypole anytime soon nor have I since my childhood!
Mayday, as a word, is also a signal of distress that’s used in an emergency. I researched (actually, I admit that I Googled it) why that particular word was used and it’s derived from the French venez maider, meaning “come help me”. Hmmm…how interesting! This word was created for mariners and aviators but is used by other transportation vehicles too. The call is to be given three times in a row and is supposed to be loud enough to drown out any other noise. A mayday relay call is made on behalf of someone else in distress. Often, one vessel would make the call for another vessel needing immediate attention. I think you know where I’m going with this!
For us, this last month has been a series of events that were unexpected and critical. These situations occurred on top of those we deal with on a daily basis. It’s though we get up in the morning expecting the day to go one way and it takes a detour into strange waters with a strong current. When I woke up today, I wondered if I should hide under the covers or get out of bed to face it all…just being honest. There are those moments when your faith hasn’t kicked in to tell you anything different. Our faith does speak but in my case, it was yelling, “Mayday Mayday Mayday”! I didn’t ask my faith to be a cheerleader chanting, “You can do it, You can do it, You can, You can”! I wasn’t “stirring up the gift within me” or allowing my faith confessions to take over. I simply cried out to God, “Come Help Me”!
I remember an episode of “Brady Bunch” where the boys were competing with the girls in building a house of cards. This was one of my favorite shows as a kid…we only had three channels back then! Anyway, the winner won the stamps to redeem something they wanted. In the “old days”, we used to have green stamps that could be collected and then redeemed at a center. I always loved going there and remember my sisters and I having to put all the stamps in these little booklets before we could go. To continue, the Brady boys wanted a boat and the girls wanted a sewing machine because the place was going out of business. The competition gets intense as each sibling builds the tower and we were breathless as we watched! As they neared the top it was time for poor Jan, the gawky middle sister, to have her turn but wait…she was wearing a charm bracelet that nearly upset the whole thing! Whew, that Jan! The boys were ready to win but suddenly, Tiger (the family dog) runs into Greg as he’s placing the last card on the stack and the house of cards tumbles down-OH NO! MayDay Mayday Mayday!
Well, you guessed it, the girls won! They went to the Redemption Center to get their sewing machine but, as the wholesome show would have it, the sisters led by perfect older sister “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” (Brady fans inside joke) felt bad for the boys and decided to get a color TV for everyone to enjoy! Applause! Cheers!
I said all that to ask this…Is there nothing to drown out all the noise in our worrisome minds? Is there a Tiger running toward us? Does life feel like a house of cards and we are competing with the enemy for our “stuff”? By stuff I’m talking about everything that belongs to us as children of God; what His Word promises those who have been redeemed. Those stamps entitled the Brady girls to get something. God’s Word is our book of stamps and redemption center all in one! It also entitles us to claim those promises for someone else and shout that Mayday relay call.
No matter who’s in distress, we can shout “come help”! He knows before we even ask but…we are the ones that have to realize who we are and whose we are. We may be in the boat, being tossed to and fro, but so is Jesus and He never shouts, “Mayday”! He goes to the bow of the boat, as He did in the gospels, and shouts, “Peace, Be Still.” That peace enables us to pick up our house of cards and build, once again… and even have the steadiness of Jan Brady!