I have been awake for hours already this morning. Whatever sleep I did end up getting over the course of the night was not restful. I kept falling asleep and falling back into this stupid dream revolving around a trip to the beach, in a hotel crammed with spring breakers, a bus that was really one big bathroom (think gym locker room and you'll get the idea) attached to this hotel and county prisoners cleaning it.
This is what my brain does when it's got a lot to process.
And when i read what i just typed above I realize that i made it sound like we're going through turmoil over here.
No, we just have a lot going on here at casa Kibler and I have been wanting to get to a quiet place, organize thoughts, pray, write, and with 2 boys starting spring break, that wasn't happening. So my brain took over during my sleep. At least it was entertaining - i just wonder what the prisoners scrubbing the floor of the bus bathroom relates to in my real life.
Since I was awake, I thought I'd capitalize on the quiet - and when i grabbed my laptop i found it was on a blog i must have clicked through to and then got sidetracked yesterday, because i didn't read it until this morning. But oh lordy. It was appropriate.
It was relating sailing to your relationship with God.
I don't sail but she explained it so simply that I got it.
She said, when the wind is in front of you (you're facing the situation) you have all of your sails trimmed, keeping from healing over - she said to think of it as being braced for what's ahead, facing it head on so to speak, that maneuver is called a "tack". Not "attack" but a "tack" But i thought how similar the words in meaning were here.
Then, she described a 'jibe', where the wind is behind you - she likened it to turning your back on the situation, and you have to let loose of your sails in order to catch the wind from behind. This letting go is called a 'broad reach'.
Sometimes we have to let go in order to let God do his thing. A broad reach is a broad stretch for me. I'm not good at that. I like control. I don't like letting go. That's definitely not in my comfort zone. I'm trying though.
How do you let go?
Oh boy! I learned the hard way! But I find that every time I let go things start to turn around. I'm reading the BEST book called Walking with God by John Eldridege. You might like it! I really love it.
ReplyDeleteHummm...the million dollar question. How God answered that question of control for me was stripping me down of all of the things I thought I had control of. My home, my community, my kids school, my daily routine, my life as I knew it and He sailed me away to an island where I have had to wake up and remember who really has the control. You know what? It hurt to let go of it, but I am learning the joy in letting Him take over.
ReplyDeleteDid that make any sense?
Love your friendship.
That is such an interesting perspective! I'm not familiar with sailing, but I understand the sense of tacking into the wind or letting loose and sailing away. I feel that I've gotten pretty darned good about letting go and not holding on to things (bad feelings, relationships, anything that doesn't serve me well), partly through time spent with the Divine (living alone gives me a lot of that time) and also through reading about the entire practice of yoga. So much to learn. Probably my biggest, life-changing lesson was when a loved one was in a really bad way and nothing I did for months helped. One day, in prayer, I rattled off all I'd done and tearfully asked what do I do next? The answer: "Get Out Of My Way." As clearly as I'm sitting here, that was the answer. It was difficult but I let go, the sails filled up and a few weeks later a solution manifested. I remember thinking "that isn't the way I'd have solved this" but reflecting back, it's turned out incredibly. And since then I've learned to always trust in His Perfect Plan for my life.
ReplyDelete