“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” Jimmy Dean
Years ago, when I first tried to learn how to operate a sail boat, one of the first lessons had to do with setting the sail just right to catch the prevailing wind. Sail and wind have to work together or you may as well stay tied up at the dock. It soon became apparent that the flexible part of the equation was the sail. I could not make the wind go where I wanted it to go, but I could shift and move the sail. Wind has a mind of its own. Oftentimes, life circumstances are like the wind…unchangeable, disagreeable, and strong-willed. More than once I’ve been in situations where the circumstances could not be altered, so it was up to me to make the adjustment.
Anyone who is so stubborn as to think that change is all up to the other person, adaptation must come from the “other side,” will soon run headlong into fundamental reality: if you’re not willing to shift your sail to catch the wind of movement, you’re dead in the water. Pity the lonely sailor sitting in the middle of the ocean, unwilling to shift the sails, demanding that the wind meet his navigational requirements. The wind blows where it will…and that is not always right into my sail.
Adaptability doesn’t mean changing your principle, just your practice. Ask the Apostle Paul and he will tell you: “I am all things to all people so that I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22) The Gospel of Christ did not change, but Paul’s approaches to people did…gladly, in order to arrive at his “destination.” So be ready, and willing, to shift your sails in order to catch the Wind. The Sacred Wind of the Spirit will get you there, but you have to steer the boat.”
Bon Voyage! (Press on!)
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