Tuesday, December 2, 2014 You want to make a good impression on your first date. At least I did. It was to be with the girl I later married and with whom I shared almost 45 years, much love, our dear children, a mutual ministry and more. Pat lives on in our conversations, our hearts and our love. I had this catamaran. It was old and heavy, and green. Double green in fact. A ‘cat’ is a unique boat as many of you know: Two hulls, a flat surface upon which to seat while sailing, and sturdy in strong wind. To take your date on such a vessel seemed exciting and romantic to me. Pat agreed to go, but reluctantly: “I’m not afraid of the water, but I don’t swim very well.” I assured her that we would be safe and have fun. I even showed her one of the bright orange life jackets we would take with us on the boat, “Just in case.” It was a lovely day, sunny, with not too little, not too much breeze. We had put the boat in the water, raised the sails and were headed out of the Gulfport harbor for some sailing. There was a large yacht docked just ahead of us, and as we moved along, Pat observed “That we were drifting toward ‘that big boat over there.” I told her that I would just need to move the tiller a bit, adjust our angle, and we’d be just fine. I didn’t tell her that I had not used this boat in close quarters much, and was only learning at the moment that the steering was not proper and true. Wind and tide and bad steering mixed with some limited ‘skipper’ abilities had us closer and closer to the yacht. “We’re going to hit it,” she said. I should have said, “I know,” but kept trying to move away. Fortunately we hit the yacht sideways, instead of head on! We left a dab of green on the side of the yacht, owned (we later learned) by the man who also owned the Times Picayune in New Orleans. ‘Head on’ would have been worse, this ‘encounter’ rubbed off mostly, (just a tiny dab of dark green was left and I decided that there was no need to upset the owner with unpleasant information.) We did get out of the harbor, sail happily for a while, and grow our relationship. “Nice way to do a first date,” she said when I dropped her off at her apartment. I think I knew what she meant. Trying to be impressive will generally defeat you. This will help: First be sure you know what you’re doing before doing it. Then the ability to steer correctly and safely is a life essential. We kid each other in our family when we’re on the road with this family-famous line: “Hey! It would help if you’d stay in your lane.” “I know in whom I have believed…” (2 Timothy 1:12) is not quite the same as being sure you can control your catamaran before you go out for an important event, but knowing what you believe and what you’re doing never hurt either. Finally, be sure about all your life’s steering mechanisms. My green ‘cat’ was hand built and as it turned out, the rudder was too small for the size and weight of the boat. My Cajun sailing wiz uncle confirmed that for us with a single look! Advent is begun and gives opportunity for each of us to check ‘our steering mechanisms.’ We want to stay on the road, and sail life’s seas (while protecting big bad yachts) with as much safety and fun as our human condition allows. Maybe it’s more impressive to try not to be impressive—whether on land or water. Always love, always, Keith
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 12:25:08 +0000
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