You can always sail

​If you think about it, life is like sailing. And time - and all that comes with time - is the wind.

Donald Miller says that a sailor can't control the wind, but they can harness it. If the wind is to their back they speed along. If it's in their face they slow down. But they can always sail.

I feel like time has been in my face the last few years. But it's not by luck that I've continued to sail. It's been a daily decision to get up each morning and climb into the boat and sail.

Granted - some days you get tired of sticking your finger in the air only to discover the wind's in your face again today. But I learned a long time ago that I don't have as much control over the wind as I'd like. Some days the only control I really have is 'do I sail or not?"

So I sail.

The thing is - if you don't have someplace you really want to go, it's easy to crawl back in bed when the wind is in your face. But these days I do know where I want to go. There are things I want to experience. Things I want to make happen. I want them bad enough that even if the wind is in my face - I'm going to grab hold of forward progress every day I can.

I suppose that's the secret behind those who land in the places they want to be. They didn't give forward progress back to the days that offered it. They didn't get scared off by the direction of the wind.

Chances are - you and me - we will face a time today or tomorrow when we will feel the wind blowing straight into our faces. Let that wind be an encouragement, not a threat. Let that wind remind you - you can always sail.

And then sail on...