Philippians 3:12-14, Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

After my first sailing lesson last week, I suppose I can call myself an expert. Over the weekend, my wife blessed me with sailing lessons for my birthday. About thirty years ago, I took a short ride on a small sailboat, and it made a lasting impression on me. The calm of the water and wind was incredible. I’m still fascinated that people traveled—and still travel—across vast bodies of water this way.

A couple of years ago, a family member gave us a small ten-foot boat with a sail option. I knew it meant I might finally have the chance to go sailing. My only challenge was figuring out how to learn and make time for it. That’s why my wife’s gift of sailing lessons meant so much—I probably would not have done it on my own because there always seemed to be something else to do.

I felt excited and nervous on Saturday morning as I joined three other beginners for our first sailing lesson. We started with the basics—safety, wind, and the parts of the boat. An instructor then used a boat on land to show us how to handle the tiller and mainsheet, the rope connected to the boom and sail. After that, we practiced rigging the boat and learned how to right it after a capsize, which would prove useful later. Finally, each of us was assigned a boat and shown how to launch it and angle it slightly into the wind. My coach guided me out of the shallows so the rudder could drop, and then I was on my way.

Strangely, I caught the wind just right, and everything suddenly felt simple. We needed to head left around a T-shaped dock to reach the open water beyond it. As I turned, the boom swung to the other side of the boat, the sail filled, and I was moving downwind. I was amazed by how quickly the boat picked up speed. One of the coaches called out that I was doing great and that I was “sailing.” When I glanced back toward shore, I noticed no one else had even left the beach yet—they were just getting started.

I sailed back and forth around the buoy and started to feel confident. Farther out from the dock was another buoy that required tacking into the wind. Since the instructors had explained how to do it, I assumed I could manage it. In sailing, you cannot move straight into the wind—this is called the “no-go zone.” Instead, you have to sail at angles, fixing your eyes on a point and working toward it. Everything went well for a while, but eventually I drifted into the no-go zone. My boat nearly stopped, so I tried to turn sharply to catch the wind again. Just then, a strong gust hit the sail. The boat turned, but I stayed on the same side instead of moving to balance it. I froze, the boat tipped, and within seconds I was in the water. After climbing back in, I sailed for another ten minutes before returning to the beach.

Later that day, I kept asking myself, “What did I do wrong?” I did not want to go through that again, and I replayed the moment over and over, unsure what I could have done differently. By Sunday morning, I was still thinking about how to avoid flipping the boat. Then a different thought came to mind: You are fine—stay on course. I believe that was from the Lord. It felt as though the whole experience had been allowed to encourage me. God is so good and so faithful. I had not failed; I was simply learning. In the same way, I saw the parallel of staying on course with the Lord. He is my goal.

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” 

We pray these words encourage you to stay on course.

Blessings

Tom and Joy Bollig