Catching The Wind

I’m up early again this morning getting ready to head out for my third sailing lesson. I’ve always wanted to sail, but life and opportunity never seemed to connect. Recently I obtained a small sailboat and I found that a local sailing club was having a sailing camp, so I signed up. I’m learning some things that I never would have thought about had I not embarked upon this adventure. I’ve had canoes and kayaks, and I’ve ridden in powerboats. Each one of these can go where you want them to go simply by pointing them and applying power. This is not so with a sailboat. To sail you need wind and as I’ve learned from flying kites, not all wind is the same. Yesterday, we actually didn’t get to sail because there wasn’t enough wind. We would look out across the lake for wind lines but we couldn’t find any. Because we were on a 26-foot cruiser, we had an outboard to get us to where we wanted to go, but no wind. We didn’t catch any wind until late in the afternoon when we were heading back to the dock. When we have sailed, it is slow going. To catch the wind you have to angle the sail and ride a course which maybe at a right angle from where you heading. Always watching the direction of the wind enables the sailor to utilize the power of the wind to move through the water. As I’ve been going through this experience I’ve realized that sailing is like following God, you have to be observant to know the direction he is moving in. The Holy Spirit, often thought of as wind, is said to blow where he wills, to follow you will have to know how to read the signs. It also involves patience. Because sailing is dependent upon the wind, it’s direction and power will determine how you will proceed. One who is dependent upon God will also need to move in His direction and under His power to be successful. The problem is, we are often in a hurry and we want things done now. I’m learning how to read the signs so as to catch the wind. When I’ve read them correctly, I’m sailing. The same is true with following God. Are you reading the signs? Think about it.