Captain’s Log: The Eye of the Storm & The Morning Watch

 

Captain’s Log: The Eye of the Storm & The Morning Watch

Star Date: 01292026.0345 Location: The Frozen Cabin, Shreveport Sector (Currently designated "Quiet Zone") Status: Stand Down Condition. Reflective.

If you listen closely right now, you can hear it. Nothing.

After the chaos of the last forty-eight hours—the real-world deep freeze, the metaphorical bug siege, the frantic energy of keeping the systems running while the actual pipes screamed—the cabin has finally fallen silent.

It’s not quite 0400 yet. It's that deep winter dark you only get when the rest of the world is hunkered down under ice.

I’m up. "Crewman" Uncle Bill is up. We aren't prepping spells. We aren't rolling initiative. We're just sitting in the soft glow of the news feed, watching weather maps turn purple and white, grateful that the immediate crisis has passed.

In gaming, we focus on the noise. The clash of steel, the roar of the monster. But yesterday, when things were breaking and the cold was forcing its way in, it felt less like a game and more like a trial. It brings to mind Isaiah 43:2:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

We went through the freeze, and the ship held together. We made it through the night.

Now, we have this stillness. It’s rare. It’s a chance to breathe before the day starts. In the gaming world, we call this "The Long Rest"—where you heal and recover spell slots. In the real world, it’s something deeper. It’s a reminder from Psalm 46:10:

"Be still, and know that I am God."

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is just be still after the adrenaline wears off. But right now, sitting here with Uncle Bill in the quiet cabin, listening to the hum of the heater instead of the sound of emergency repairs, that stillness is a gift.

As Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, His compassions "...are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Today is a new morning. The dungeon is cleared for now. We conserve heat, we drink coffee, and we appreciate the peace.

Relax and hold the line, everyone.

Captain Hedges, signing off from the morning watch.