Jeremy Camp has a song called “There Will Be a Day” which talks about the hope that we have in the resurrection and a new life with God in Heaven. One section stands out to me in this time, “I know the journey seems so long, You feel you’re walking on your own, But there has never been a step, Where you’ve walked out all alone.” Many of us might be wrestling with the long separation that has been caused by the virus we are trying to deal with as a country. We are not alone in these times, we have the Comforter, Counselor, and Helper present with us in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We might feel distant to other humans but the God who created us all is present with us. He longs for close connection and relationship with us and is calling out for us to come near and be held by Him in this and all our times of struggle or sorrow. Jeremy’s song reminds us that God will be faithful to us and all these things will pass away, leaving us with joy and peace in the presence of the Lord.

Now, I know you are wondering why a guy from Kansas is going to talk about nautical technique and wind, and you would be right to think, “what does this guy know about sailing?” Well, let me tell you that I have had a fascination with Tall Ships since I was a child. I have listened to dozens of audio books about the subject and spent way too many hours watching nautical films or documentaries! I tell you all that to let you know that I have some (secondhand) knowledge about this subject. Anyway, there is a process in sailing known as tacking, this is used when the wind is blowing from the direction you want to go. You can’t sail directly into the wind so you have to “tack”, which means you put your sail at an angle to the wind allowing you to move in the desired direction, then when needed you turn back the other direction and sail in a kind of zig zag which allows you to continue towards your destination even when the wind is against you.

I explain all that because now is the time for us to tack. The “wind” of the world is not allowing us an easy sail right now. We are dealing with a lot of things that try to impede our progress. We feel separated and singled out, we need community but are told it could put those we want to be with in danger, we want to continue to grow in the Lord but don’t feel like we have the support we need, and many more! However, just because these things are pushing against us doesn’t mean that we can’t continue towards the goal! We just have to tack, to change our angle and keep moving forward using the wind we have. God is still calling us onward and we can continue to follow that call, it just might look different than it has before.

This weekend Emily and I are going camping! We are going to spend some time with Rick and Karen enjoying some creation and it will be Grayson’s first camping trip (we will take pictures!) As we were packing up today we had a list of things that we would need to go with us. Thinking about this process of preparing and packing makes me wonder how often we do that on our journey with Jesus. Do we make sure we have what we need for the trip that we are on? Are we prepared for the ups and downs or the twists and turns that might come our way? Do we have enough and more than enough just in case something unexpected happens and the journey doesn’t go exactly as planned? Or are we showing up with just the clothes on our back and expecting Jesus to have everything we need? While Jesus does fill the gaps in our life there is also work that needs to be done on our end to prepare for what He has in store for us. At the same time, we need to make sure there is room enough for what He wants to give us!

What does your preparation look like for the Christian life?