I was really excited about sailing again, even though it had been a while. Although my memories of the experience were as fresh as the breezes that were blowing that day, I was soon to discover that I was not as ready to sail with the wind as I thought. And as always, the Lord had a “teachable moment” in store for this sailor to be.
One Summer in August a very dear friend and mentor offered his camp for our family use. Shepherds Knoll Located on Pocasset Lake in Wayne, Maine had all that we could ever want, to be able to enjoy a restful and playful family vacation. Although the majority of our time on the lake was spent in canoes for fishing or simple exploration of the beauty of God’s creation around the lake, a Sunfish was also available to sail. The Sunfish is the simplest of sailboats, second only to a Sailfish (which is more like a very long surfboard with a sail). This little fiberglass craft with a “cabin” to put your feet in, may hardly qualify as real sailing to those experienced with sloops and schooners. Still, the principles of sailing are the same. And, its “wicked fun”! However, admittedly, it had been a while (a very long while) since I had sailed a Sunfish.
Ah yes, those were the days! How I remember the excitement as a teen pushing off with my Sunfish on Skaneateles Lake, N.Y. The gusty wind would quickly fill the sail and I’d be off, tiller in one hand and the rope, to pull in the sail tight against the wind, in the other. As the hull would roll over I would lean out over the water to counter balance the weight as the spray from the waves would splash over the bow and into my face. And if I had it just right, on that cutting edge between tipping over and making maximum use of the wind for speed, the center board would just hum in deep vibrations. I was in control. The Sunfish and I would be one with the wind…
Now decades later it was time to be “one with the wind” as I had remembered. I told my two young boys that after I went out I would be back to take them sailing. I just knew they would love it too! But first I had to get the Sunfish ready by putting the mast up and rigging the sail to the boom attaching the rudder and dropping in the center board. This had always been a simple procedure, but for some reason this time there seemed to be a few “extra” lines and pulleys with which I was unfamiliar.
That should have been the first clue that I wasn’t quite ready to sail. Had I forgotten?, the adrenaline was pumping and I knew it would naturally all just come back to me. After all, in my mind I could almost feel the surge of the boat as it rushed over the water propelled by the wind. What a feeling of freedom and power!
The second clue that I was not really ready came when I pushed off and started to set sail. I was expecting a family send off at this memorable, historic moment. However, Old Dad had taken so long getting ready that fishing had recaptured the attention of my boys, so a brief glance and a half-hearted wave was the only send off I received. Had they perceived I wasn’t really on top of this one?
The final clue that I wasn’t ready came too late. A gust of wind quickly filled the sail, and I was off. Aching in my soul for the experience of earlier days, and still a little shaky in my familiarity with the boat, I set a good tack against the wind. I quickly pulled away from the little protective harbor and out into the open away from the point of land where the camp was located. Suddenly the wind died out and then changed directions causing the sail to flutter. As I turned the boat to come about, the wind gusted again and started to tip the boat over. Releasing the line from my grip as I ducked under the boom, I accidentally let go of the tiller which swung around wildly because I had not properly attached it to the boat. The rudder now free, kept the boat circling and swinging back and forth with the wind sending the boom across the deck each time as if to knock me overboard. I was totally out of control and at the mercy of the wind, with no way to properly secure the tiller and rudder!
After some struggles I managed to get back under sail again, but found the gusting and shifting winds to be frustrating and hard to judge for direction and intensity. The lines of the sail were not rigged tight like they should have been and my hands were getting tired of pulling on the lines against the force of the wind. Furthermore, my sense of balance for the boat was off and I was not sure where that “edge” was as I leaned, so that the Sunfish could go up on the keel without keeling over! The little cockpit was awash with water and tangled lines which swished around my ankles. Finally, to add insult to injury, with one last coming about to return to shore, the wind caught the sail too quickly. I ducked too slowly and the boom banged into my forehead. I surely was not having the fun I had remembered.
Overall it was clear that I was not in shape to sail with the wind! As my head cleared, the Lord gave me a good look at myself in ways far deeper than sailing. In hindsight I see that it also applied to any in the church who wish to sail with the wind.
When the wind of the Holy Spirit blows it is great to be sailing. But, woe to the one who is not ready to sail when it comes! It is one thing to remember the days (or the season) when the Spirit of the Lord was moving in great power, and you used to be carried along with a strange mixture of both delight and awe. But it is quite another thing to not be ready when the wind blows again, especially when it has been a while, and you have been in “safe harbor” for a season. You can become out of shape, out of practice, and out of familiarity with the ways of the wind, waves, and sailing.
In that “teachable moment” I was reminded that I was not ready to engage the coming season of ministry (“sailing”), and to envisage what God was going to do next, both in me and in the church. How well I remembered the times in the past when the Spirit of God moved so profoundly in our church that God’s will was beginning to be done here on earth at it is in heaven! All hands were on deck as we worked hard as one to hold the course. Things hummed. Oh how we sailed!
But then came the desire to get “off the edge”, loosen the sails and drift for a while. That was followed by a summer season of rest in safe harbor. That too felt good. However, after this extended period when some of the physical exercise routines, mental focus, and spiritual disciplines had gone slack, was I ready to simply set sail again and tack into the Wind? Furthermore, was the church ready? Certainly NO!
“You can’t change the direction of the wind but you can adjust your sails.” However, when it comes to the powerful Wind of the Holy Spirit it is much more than just sail adjustment. It is being in shape body, mind and spirit. It is being familiar with the “boat” you are to sail. Is it rigged right? Are the disciplines for sailing back in place? And is there renewed familiarity with the ways of the Wind in the waves?
It is not enough to be excited about getting back to church, to ministry; to sailing again. The latest inspirational book about revival and being “one with the Wind” can’t suffice. Emotional adrenaline won’t do it either. Neither will blindness to clues of your own lack of readiness. I am now well familiar with mine. What clues do you have? Take it from me, it is far better to discover them now than waiting for having set sail and having the boom to bang you on the head later!
Now, you will be happy to know that by the end of the week at Pocasset Lake, after some practice and getting reacquainted with the Sunfish, I did discover that edge again, hearing anew the hum of the centerboard. The tiller and lines felt right in my hands, and the thrill, freedom and power were back. It was wonderful! I finally did take each of my sons out for a sail, as well as my sweetheart of 17+ years (after they gained a little more confidence in me). They loved it too!
What about you? Would you like to sail with the wind and experience it’s power? Are you ready raise the sail? Wait, Is that the Wind I sense picking up out of the East…?
—RWO/MAST
Comments by Ric Ochsner