“Stay the Line” was the command that I heard throughout the
day. Yesterday afternoon I had the privilege to go sailing with Rick and Katy
Johnson on their prized ship the “Meg pie” I had never been sailing before, at least not on a real sailboat. I had a previous encounter sailing with them
a few years ago but it was on one of those small hobie cat sailing boats, which
to say was an experience as well. Anyways, as we were out sailing on a near perfect sailing day with winds
from 13-22 mph and glorious sun shine all day long, I was being taught by the “skipper”
himself aka Rick. At first I was just
observing but later on he gave me the reigns, or I should say the “tiller” and
the “sheets” aka the thing to steer the boat and the ropes to the sails. I was
a bit nervous but Rick point out which way to head and told me to “Stay the
Line” meaning that I was doing a good job at keeping the boat at a good speed
and pointed in the right direction and staying the course that he desired.
As the day grew longer, my sea worthy heart was getting
tired and we pulled over for a bit and set anchor. During that time I was reflecting over the course
of the morning and afternoon and trying to remember all that I learned from
knots to what the different terms on the sailboat were and other things. One thing that stood out to me was “stay the
line”. As I continued to entertain that
thought, my mind raced back to the sermon that I heard on Sunday morning about
Hebrews 12: 1-2 which says “1Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that
hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God.”
I felt like God was telling me to “stay the line” or stay
the course. Continue running, you have been knocked down but don’t give
up. You are surrounded by other believers who are
cheering you on and want you to continue running full speed toward Christ. Don’t Stop. Throw off the things that are tripping me up and run until you can’t run
anymore.
I feel centered and encouraged now, which is a great place
to be considering in less than 3 weeks I will be starting the World Race in
Guatemala with my other team members and we will be off, running full speed
with everything inside us for the sake of the Kingdom to come. If I can offer one bit of advice: “STAY THE
LINE”!!!!
