A Sailing Story

Once upon a time, there was a sailboat—just a small sloop with a headstrong foresail and a spunky mainsail. She was a determined little boat, plowing through the sea with a cheerful but stubborn attitude, often going where she pleased without much concern to the feelings of other little boats in the water.

She had a sweetness about her that came through at times, and she wasn’t afraid to love. She wore her emotions on her sails and gave herself freely to most anyone who would come along. This little boat—Lizzy was her name—at first enjoyed following in the wake of boats that had gone before her, but soon found it unexciting and quite the drudgery in fact. She soon broke off to form her own path in the bluewaters, desiring to go places that none before her had gone, in an effort to find her own life as a little sailboat.

But Lizzy’s course was not always the wisest, and she often steered herself directly into rough waters. As was fore mentioned , she was an emotional little boat, and would quite often become attached to the likes of various other boats—mostly dinghies, and perhaps a yawl here or a ketch there—loving the attention they gave her when she shouted “ahoy!”. She would toss her line at them and haul them in with that sweetness that was referred to, only to cut the lines that bound them together and sail away, leaving those boats distressed and disillusioned, wondering what they had done wrong. In all reality, it was only Lizzy the sloop that had done wrong. She had no real intention upon settling down with any old small boat; she was looking for a schooner—with three sails, or maybe four—that she could soar off into the sunset with.

This was Lizzy’s life for a few years, claiming to know what she wanted, but giving herself to everything besides. She was often hurt and disappointed with herself, her spirits making their way down to the abyss after another case of thwarted love. She knew that to live a contented life she must make a change.

It took awhile for her to finally realize the full affects of her destructive behavior, and when she did it was much too late to redeem many of her past mistakes. However, Lizzy found that though she had made many blunders, there was still opportunity to do things right in the future. She decided to sail in a new wake—the wake of the One who always guided her with perfect faithfulness. She had abandoned His wake many times in the past to follow her own, but returned now to His, casting off her ways to discover the peace of sailing in His ways.

Now, sailing sweetly surrendered to her Captain’s navigation, Lizzy has cast her anchor upon the Rock of Ages and finds that it will take more than just a breeze to alter her course. She is stayed upon the One that cannot be moved, and finds that it is when she is anchored there that her sails are full of the wind of grace and she glides along the bluewaters of life with confidence in the One who guides her every motion. The waves of adversity cannot overtake her, and the tempestuous winds only cause her to stand stronger. So whether she turns to port or to starboard, she hears the voice of her Captain calling her back to His course on the ocean of life, and it is there that she flourishes.

This story is dedicated to my wonderful brother, Ryan, and to the work that the Lord has accomplished in my life.