I help to run a children’s summer camp in Wisconsin, where my daughter Emily taught sailing for a couple of years. One day I went to the lake to watch her sail with the children.

When I arrived, Emily’s boat was about two miles south of the beach where I sat. I watched my daughter guide the boat against the wind from one side of the lake to the other until she landed her boat close to where I was sitting.

Watching Emily sail that day helped me see how living can be similar to sailing a boat. In life we cannot control the winds of life that blow against us, but we can adjust our response to difficult situations, just as sailors adjust their sails and rudder to arrive at their destination. Fortunately, as Christians, we have a navigator, the Holy Spirit, who is always there to guide us.

Emily’s voyage that day was not long. But when sailing across large bodies of water, sailors use navigational charts to show them where they should sail and what they need to be looking out for. Our navigational chart is the Bible. As we grow in wisdom through scripture we become better sailors who can navigate through all the winds of life that blow our way.

 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit, our guide who helps us to navigate our lives. Amen