Course Corrections

Sailing is an exhilarating experience.  There is nothing quite like it.  Perhaps skiing if you can delete the part where I crash and fall down the mountain making weird noises and leaving bits and pieces of my equipment up the slope requiring an uphill trek to retrieve everything.  I've enjoyed sailing on large vessels, medium size 36' vessels and much smaller craft - each with its special thrills and challenges.  I've learned, among other things, being dependent on the wind and the waves, the sailor must be continually conscious of the environment and ready for anything from the water and sky, or even the boat, the sails and the crew. 

Sailing is different from powerboating which allows one to plow forward despite wind or wave.  Yes, there is a wheel that turns from left to right, but the sails, the waves and the wind speed must be accounted for and while you may want to go from Point A to Point B, in sailing you may have to steer toward Point C to get there - steering to the right so you boat will go straight.  While vectors, leeways, drift and knots confuse me, and I can never keep my port from my aft straight, I do know course corrections are a constant in sailing.

Course corrections are a constant in life as well.  Often, one must steer toward Point C to get to Point B, which is a lesson I continue to learn the hard way.  I can become singularly focused  with my plans and lists and speed to arrive and, when something unexpected alters those plans, I can become completely adrift.  I may want to powerboat my way through life, but the truth is we are more like sailboats.  Sidebar - people who think "sailing through life" is easy have never had to man a boat on choppy waves in a sudden squall while trying to lower sails to keep from capsizing.  Sailing ... and life-sailing ... is quite the ride.

One of the items on The List is teaching inductive Bible study methods to several young men God has privileged us to have in our lives.  My husband and I have longer-term relationships with these young men and were going to continue doing what we've been doing with them but just add Bible study to the mix ... interestingly, at their request.  We chose to study the Book of Ruth using Leadership Resources International's study (www.leadershipresources.org).  We support LRI's ministry, which teaches people all over the world how to study the Bible, and we were excited to use their materials.  Ruth is a short book, is narrative, historical and has a fairly easy story to understand.  Smooth sailing.

We set sail on Friday but the winds blowing on our little craft quickly moved us in a different direction.  Our inaugural meeting of our Life Group or House Church was expected to be an intergenerational interracial group where we would eat a meat together while sharing our lives, do the dishes, gather in the living room to jointly study Ruth, worship and pray.  We had already made a course adjustment the day before when one of our group asked if he could bring a friend of his and his friend's girlfriend.  The expected and given response was there is always room for more.

On Friday, two of our expected group did not show, the friend and girlfriend came with a baby, and the little brother of another member came.  One of us was openly struggling emotionally and spiritually, another was exhausted from a hard work week.  Many of us had certain expectations of the evening.  None of us were prepared for the way the evening would end.  God was.

The study started simply enough.  One person prayed, we each took turns introducing ourselves giving fun little tidbits of information, and we took turns reading through the book of Ruth.  Routine stuff for small groups.  Someone asked if we had any coffee, which we made, and we moved our study from the living room to the dining room over coffee and pie.  One of the older members asked the group for their overall thoughts on the Book of Ruth and the prevailing winds appeared to shift.

One of our younger members did not understand the relationships between Ruth, Naomi, Boaz and who were those men that died?  Emboldened, the others chimed in.  What were they doing in a foreign country?  And what was the thing about the shoes and the feet?  I pulled out a piece of paper and drew a diagram starting from Naomi and Elimilech, their sons, their Moab wives, the deaths of the men, the trip back to Israel, the Kinsman Redeemer, Boaz and ultimately, the new baby.  I also took them to the Gospels and showed how Jesus ultimately came from the line of Boaz. 

Cool, huh?  Oh yes, they said.  Very cool.  Except for one thing ... Jesus was born?  Wasn't he always was?  Wait.  What?

It has been a long time since I have had in-depth conversations with someone who had little to no knowledge of the basics of Christianity.  Most Americans I know, even the non-christians, have the preliminaries down pat, they just don't believe it.   This was different.  As the conversation continued, and questions and answers flew back and forth, I came to the realization of what was happening.  God was calling this young woman's name and she was responding.  Where to start?  What scriptures to turn to?  "Help me God," she was calling out in her heart.  "Help me God," I was calling out in mine.

The young woman I had not known two hours earlier was sitting at my table sharing how she desperately wanted to know Jesus, wanted to follow Him, wanted to fall in love with Him but was so confused about who He was and what she should do.  Somehow, she said, she knew that to get her life together she needed Jesus but ... she had so many questions.  She wanted answers.  She knew nothing other than Jesus must be the answer but how?

I shared the full redemptive story of God creating man, man falling away from God, and God, in His great love for us coming to earth to live, die and rise again so He could redeem us back from the slavery we so willingly sold ourselves into.   We read in Genesis.  We read in John.  We read in Romans.  We talked.  We cried.  We prayed.  Oh, did we pray.

Breathing prayer with every word I spoke, I was privileged to see another child born into eternal glory and then, with equal joy, watched my husband introduce the young man to Jesus.  It was God's appointed time for us all.  We praise God that He opened their eyes to His truth, and our eyes to their need.  I'm glad we did not powerboat our way through the study staying on our agenda.  I'm glad there is always room for more at our table.  Sometimes it is a tight fit but God uses availability and flexibility.

The Holy Spirit is moving.  God, in His great mercy, is allowing us to come along for the ride ... and what a ride.  Our new sister in Christ is already hoping to bring others with her to our group.  We were to be a twice a month group.  With two new eager Christians, and more people coming, we collectively decided to meet every week until God determined otherwise.  We are switching from Ruth to the Gospels.

So, two nights a month are now four, at least for a time, and I suspect this is just the beginning of what God has in store for our little group.  Whatever happens, discipling young believers requires adjustments to our lives ... and The List.  So be it.

On The List was being more like Jesus and praying God allows me to make an eternal difference in the life of one person.  Was my new sister in Christ that one?  I believe so.  But now I'm praying for more.  Many more.  And we are praying for others to set sail with us.

Course corrections.

Missional Theophanies.

Engaging the world and encountering God in the process.