Do you ever have one of those moments where you tell yourself, “There’s a lesson in this somewhere.” Yesterday was one of those times for me. I hope I can do the story justice.
For this year’s Independence Day, my parents invited me to go sailing. They have a beautiful 33′ Endeavor that they dock at Lake Guntersville. Yesterday was special because my dad trusted me at the helm for the entirety of the trip. Trust me, this was a big deal. July is not typically known for being a windy month, but between yesterday’s summer storms we were able to get up to about 5 knots on the water.
There’s one thing you need to know about sailing for this story: a sailboat will “heel” when the wind picks up enough and the sails are set right. This means the boat will tilt slightly to one side and make you feel like it’s going to capsize. If you haven’t been sailing a lot and only watched YouTube videos of sailboats capsizing, this can be quite scary. And no matter how many times my dad reassures us “this boat can’t tip over” it will still make you screech when you have to grab onto something (or food and drinks start flying). When we finally caught some wind, every few minutes the boat would tilt over and make you want to grab a life jacket. During one of those times, my mom looked behind us and saw a bald eagle. And boy was that something special.
Lake Guntersville is home to several bald eagles. I’ve only seen bald eagles once in my life and they were sitting in the top of a pine tree in St. Joseph’s State Park. Since then I’ve always wanted to see one in flight. And what a treat to see one on the 4th of July! There was no mistaking this one for an osprey or heron; this eagle was close enough to see head and tail full of white feathers. Somehow it felt like we watched him for five minutes but also for five seconds. It was like slow motion, yet he was gone so quickly. Not too long after we watched him land in the trees, the winds picked up again and we were headed down the river. It was on this particular “tack” that I didn’t move the wheel for nearly the whole width of the lake.
When the day was over and we were back in port, I had a few minutes to sit and think about that eagle. “There’s a lesson in there somewhere.” And then God revealed this: the view behind me was beautiful and peaceful. The view in front of me was scary and unknown. I could turn around and follow the eagle, take a few pictures, and watch as he inevitably flies out of view. Or I could keep moving forward. I could face the unknown winds and find something new.
This is the season I’m in now while facing the World Race. My life here is good. I have a nice job, a wonderful family, a great support system. The view behind me is peaceful. Yet God has called me to this place. This unknown. He has invited me to walk with Him. And that is beautiful. Is it scary? YES. Will it be hard? YES. But has He designed every bit of this walk? Absolutely. Remember how I didn’t move the wheel? I think this season will be the same way. It might feel like being tossed back and forth on a boat, but if I stay the course, He will set the sails.
