I've forgotten much of the terminology, but some of my best childhood memories took place on sailboats. My dad and one of my brothers built a small one a few handfuls of years ago, and we took several family vacations sailing a big, rented one around the San Juan Islands. I love being blasted by the wind, I love leaning out the side of a boat to keep the wind from flattening it to the water, I love the sound the water makes against the sides, I love the bobbing of a boat that is not "under weigh"... I love it.
If you've sailed before, you'd know that it's not the most... direct form of travel. Sometimes you're out in the middle of a lake, and the wind totally disappears. Sometimes the current of a river is going the wrong direction in relationship to the wind, and you can't get where you'd like to. Sometimes you have great wind going TO your destination, and end up rowing (or drifting) the whole way back. It is a beautiful form of travel (and recreation), but definitely not predictable or direct. The other thing about traveling by sailboat is that you hardly ever aim straight at your destination. Sailboats often have to be at an angle against the wind, so that the wind can press against the sails and make the boat move. SO, most of the time you zigzag your way toward your destination.
Another part of sailing that can be quite exhilarating is each time the boat needs to "tac". This is when you've "zig"ed far enough and it's time to turn the boat the other way and "zag" at the opposite angle. In order to completely turn the boat the other way, the wind has to be let out of the sails, and there is this brief moment of crazy!The captain gives a shout to his crew, and everyone sets to work: ropes have to be given great amounts of slack (but don't let go completely, or you won't be able to bring the sails back under control), and the sails temporarily slap back and forth wildly as the whole boat is turned at a great angle, and then there is the rush to yank ropes back in and tighten them down, and catch the wind again, filling the sails and setting the boat back in motion going the other way.
Yesterday I was thinking about how much life, and our walks with God, are like sailboats... Often God takes us on a zigzagging journey toward HIS destination. We fuss and worry because our little boat is NOT angled straight at the destination! And then the moment (or season) comes when it's time to "tac", and we panic, seeing only slapping, flapping sails and too much slack in the ropes, feeling the vessel turning greatly... and then it passes and we see that truly our Captain was in control the whole time.
I'm coming out of a "tac" season. My Captain continually reminded me that with all that was raging around me, He was simply changing my direction. Finally, as we tighten down the ropes, the wind presses against my sails at the right angle again and I begin to move.
May I not lose sight of the horizon, or for a moment think that I am captain of this ship.
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other...
If you've sailed before, you'd know that it's not the most... direct form of travel. Sometimes you're out in the middle of a lake, and the wind totally disappears. Sometimes the current of a river is going the wrong direction in relationship to the wind, and you can't get where you'd like to. Sometimes you have great wind going TO your destination, and end up rowing (or drifting) the whole way back. It is a beautiful form of travel (and recreation), but definitely not predictable or direct. The other thing about traveling by sailboat is that you hardly ever aim straight at your destination. Sailboats often have to be at an angle against the wind, so that the wind can press against the sails and make the boat move. SO, most of the time you zigzag your way toward your destination.
Another part of sailing that can be quite exhilarating is each time the boat needs to "tac". This is when you've "zig"ed far enough and it's time to turn the boat the other way and "zag" at the opposite angle. In order to completely turn the boat the other way, the wind has to be let out of the sails, and there is this brief moment of crazy!The captain gives a shout to his crew, and everyone sets to work: ropes have to be given great amounts of slack (but don't let go completely, or you won't be able to bring the sails back under control), and the sails temporarily slap back and forth wildly as the whole boat is turned at a great angle, and then there is the rush to yank ropes back in and tighten them down, and catch the wind again, filling the sails and setting the boat back in motion going the other way.
Yesterday I was thinking about how much life, and our walks with God, are like sailboats... Often God takes us on a zigzagging journey toward HIS destination. We fuss and worry because our little boat is NOT angled straight at the destination! And then the moment (or season) comes when it's time to "tac", and we panic, seeing only slapping, flapping sails and too much slack in the ropes, feeling the vessel turning greatly... and then it passes and we see that truly our Captain was in control the whole time.
I'm coming out of a "tac" season. My Captain continually reminded me that with all that was raging around me, He was simply changing my direction. Finally, as we tighten down the ropes, the wind presses against my sails at the right angle again and I begin to move.
May I not lose sight of the horizon, or for a moment think that I am captain of this ship.
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other...
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