titanic

This past weekend I went to see the Titanic exhibit in Atlanta.  I have always been borderline-obsessed with all things Titanic.  Long before there was Jack and Rose I was hooked.  I remember the day that they found the Titanic on the ocean floor.  I was five and was fascinated by the images I saw on our TV screen.  I didn't really know about the ship until that day, but I just saw a sunken ship and sunken treasure.  I was into those things back then....along with pirates, dinosaurs, arrowheads, and rocks(like natural uncut amethyst and quartz).  While most little girls were getting Barbies and princess dress-up clothes for Christmas, I got a microscope.  Yep, I'm a dork.  But those of you who know me already knew that.  Anyways, back to Titanic.  I have always been captivated by stories about Titanic and the people who set sail on that now infamous voyage. 

So a few things struck me as I walked through the exhibit:

The beginning talks about the extensive planning, drafting, and construction that went into the building of the Titanic and the amazing attention to the tiniest detail in both design and decor.  There was even real footage that you could watch as the men were building the great ship.  Such hard work.  So much effort went into it's construction and to think that it would sink on it's maiden voyage.  What a waste.  How sad.  It made me think of my life.  What things in my life am I working so hard to build, keep, or maintain that are going to just "sink" one day?

There were pieces of china from first and second class that were recovered and on display in the exhibit.  On one hand I loved seeing these things.  I love antiques and I like to think about the beautiful china, fine furniture, and luxurious linens that the ship was decked out in.  Then there were the passengers.  What a sight it must have been.  The fabulous hats and dresses the women arrived wearing and all the beautiful clothes that filled their trunks and luggage.  On the other hand, once the Titanic and that iceberg collided none of that really mattered anymore.  It was all just a bunch of pretty stuff floating through the icy waters until it came to rest on the bottom of the ocean floor.  In a way, we're all on that Titanic, and our lives are headed for an iceberg.  Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it's the truth.  We all die one day.  After all our pretty stuff is taken away what will remain?  Am I investing my life in things that will one day float away or in things of eternity?  Ignoring the inevitable iceberg does not make it go away.  Which brings me to my next observation.

One of the items recovered was a beautiful stained glass window still intact.  It was recovered from a first class room and was actually a screen that could be placed over the porthole.  It was for aesthetic purposes and also so that the passenger could pull the screen over the porthole in rough or stromy seas.  The screen would still let natural light in, but hide the stormy sea.  Now, granted the Titanic sunk because of an iceberg and not a storm, but I like the analogy here, so stick with me.  Ignoring the problems and sins in our lives and hearts and instead sugar-coating them does not make them go away.  It does not make them any less real or their doom any less inevitable or destructive.  Ignoring the things that will make your ship sink does not keep you from sinking.  What things in my life have I been closing the stained glass screen over?