I love getting in our dinghy and rowing out away from our sailboat. I’m not trying to escape, but to gain perspective. I love to look at her sitting at anchor. She has classic lines from her long, beautiful bowsprit to the sweet upturn of her transom.
The surprising thing is what you don’t see. If you don’t count the masts that hold the sails up in the air, there is much more sailboat below the water than above! The seven-foot keel sticks down into the ocean and weighs over 9,000 pounds. It stretches from the bow to the stern and her purpose is to keep us sailing upright. When the winds howl and threaten to turn us upside down, the keel fights back and keeps us on course.
For a Christian, the Holy Spirit is the equivalent to a keel. Temptations and trials may threaten to turn us upside down, but the Holy Spirit keeps us upright and on course. While the Holy Spirit is quiet, lying there just below the surface, he gives stability to everything we do and helps us pass through every storm.
Be a Blessing!
from my book, Changing Tacks: Lessons I’ve Learned from an Old Wooden Boat