We love to take people sailing with us. Most people have not had the experience, and we enjoy showing them ‘the ropes’. This past weekend we took our friends, Verne and Von, sailing with us and it was the first time for both of them to ever be on a sailboat. It was a very hot and humid day but the wind was perfect for a day on the lake with calm waters. It’s always cooler out on the water so the winds at 9 to 11 knots was perfect for moving the sailboat as well as letting us feel cooler than the current conditions.

Sailing is more than knowing what ropes to pull or what direction to steer. It’s all about the wind! If the wind is coming from the north and we want to go south, then we loosen up the sails and let them catch the wind to blow us south. We technically can only go about as fast as the wind is blowing – as we are blowing with the wind. It’s also a very hot point of sailing – there is no breeze because we are moving with the wind. Now what if we want to go north and the wind is still coming out of the north? Now you have to think about aerodynamics and the idea that our vertical big white sail is like a vertical airplane wing. Although we cannot sail head on directly into the north wind, if we zig or zag a little left and then right, the sails can cause ‘lift’ and we are sucked into the wind and can move towards our north goal. Ted likes to explain it this way – if you wanted to get to the top of a super steep hill, you might not get there by going straight up, but could zig to the left, then zag to the right, and eventually get there. Now think about being in a car on a windless day. Just by driving, it will feel windy as you push through the air. So it is with sailing – as we push through the air, it will feel windy as we sail into the wind. Sailing downwind or with the wind, it is not too breezy. But sailing upwind or against the wind is when it can feel very windy and that’s when you see those sailboats leaning!

Our friend Verne was more than happy to try his hand at steering our sailboat. He quickly got the feel of it! At first, we were sailing upwind because it was so hot and Ted wanted to sail in a way that we’d get a breeze and cool off. The boat was leaning or ‘heeling’ a small amount and we were sailing quite nicely on Lake Michigan on a hot August day! Ted had Verne turn the boat in a way that we were then traveling downwind. Same wind. Different direction. The boat flattened out on the water and it felt like someone had turned the wind off. Verne felt the difference and actually exclaimed, “Wow, what a difference in the wind now.” It was quite a dramatic and noticeable difference. Same lake, same boat, same wind and wind direction. The only difference was that we had turned. We changed direction.

It made me think.

I think about times in my life when I’ve felt ‘stuck’ in a situation or circumstance. Maybe I’ve gotten bad news and I worry and have a tearful breakdown. But if I give it some time and thought, by the next day I can cope better as I’ve either come to terms or have adjusted my thinking so that things don’t seem so bad now. Or think about a job you may have had and hated. You can stay stuck with what you think you can’t change, or you can either try to change things at the job or go find another job. We are all like captains of our own ships – steering through life and reacting to the winds of change. If we don’t like what’s happening, we can have a change of attitude and simply turn away from the turbulence towards a calmer, less windy environment. We may not be able to change the wind or the waves, but we can adjust our sails and steer somewhere else.

In Matthew 10 of the bible, Jesus gives authority to his twelve disciples to find the lost sheep of Israel. The disciples were told to heal the sick, drive out demons and proclaim the kingdom of God. Jesus gave them clear instructions on where to go, what to take, and how long to stay with these final words: “As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.”

I love those instructions! And what a lesson to us as well! Jesus sent the twelve into the world with a task. The wicked and lost world was as it was. The disciples were coming with healing and good news. But Jesus was wise to tell them that if people were not nice and rejected them – if things got stormy and turbulent – that they were to leave. Change direction! Jesus told them to simply turn away and go somewhere else! And – the best part is they were told to shake it off and forget about it. Leave the dust behind and find better results in a different direction!

On our sailboat last weekend, Verne learned how different the journey can be with the same wind and waves but steering in a different direction. May that be a life lesson to us all. Turn and change direction!

just Laurel