SAILING SOLO

Alissa J. Graunke

A few years ago while I was at a summer camp, I had the opportunity to learn to sail. The day came when I had to do a solo sail to pass a certain level, and I was terrified. I'd never sailed alone. I was scared of capsizing and not being able to right the boat, or even worse, "turtling"—capsizing when the mast points straight down underwater.

The day of my solo was cold, windy, and cloudy. The sailing counselor shared a few ideas with me on the beach, the most helpful of which was that God was steering the boat, so it wasn't up to me. God is all-powerful, and He wouldn't put me in a situation I couldn't handle.

I got into the boat and started to sail. The fear started to rise again. The things I'd learned went right out of my head, and I tacked farther and farther into the wind until I was going very fast. I reached out to God desperately, and started to slow down. I suddenly felt in control of the boat, and I knew my dominion came from God. I sailed for a little while longer.

As part of my test, I had to capsize the boat and right it again.

I became frightened again that I wouldn't be strong enough. I capsized the boat, and, holding onto the side, I tried to right it, but the fear prevented me. I was so frustrated. I reached out to God again, knowing that He is Life and Love. I continued struggling, however, until I remembered the story from the Bible where Jesus and his disciples were on a boat in a storm. Jesus was asleep while his disciples were convinced the ship was going to sink. They woke Jesus, and He rebuked the storm. In this case, the storm was my turbulent thoughts—believing that I had to do this all on my own and getting frustrated because I couldn't This storm needed rebuking. I soon felt a calm, God-sent peace within me, and I quickly righted the boat.

I sailed back to the beach and was rewarded with a hug from the counselor and the passing of the level. But more important, I had conquered my fear of sailing alone. I was one of the first people to sign up for one of the end-of-the-summer boat races, and we came in second place.

Alissa J. Graunke
Brookfield, Wisconsin

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