By Guess and By God

I have been adrift since I landed in this new and undefined sea of blue-green grass with my son. I think he has, too.

However, I am grateful that it has only taken a few days for me to realize that we have gone off course. Each new turn of the tides (and there have been several already) has hit me like a gale wind, tossing me so far off my keel that I have not been able to find my balance. Subsequently, my perception about how to plot our next heading has been all over the charts.

I’ve been tacking back and forth like a madwoman.

Time to drop anchor and find my bearings.

This is the totality of everything I know in this moment. Sailing is one of the ultimate sacred tapestries. It is a divine weaving of man/woman, nature, and the universe. We humans love the adventure, the challenge, and the new worlds that open to us as we navigate the seas. Nature contributes the weather conditions, the oceans and seas, the tides, and the marine life. And the universe offers its stability. Everyday the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. The moon goes through pre-ordained phases, waxing and waning its way through each year. The stars travel well-established routes maintaining their unique constellations as they traverse across the sky.

The North Star, however, is fixed.

The North Star never moves from its appointed position.

And, God, by divine design, gave us the North Star to use as a navigational tool.

I temporarily misplaced my internal rudder and forgot about the North Star. In the midst of several sudden and powerful squalls my son and I have been overwhelmed by, I have been unable to captain because I was preoccupied with keeping us afloat.

I forgot all about divine guidance.

Dropping anchor re-focused my attention on my guide, my North Star. I remember that I can let my North Star be the lens to illuminate and interpret the events of our lives. It gives us ballast. It gives us stability, and it gives us a through line that is changeless and true.

My North Star is a prayer that I can live on. And, this time I have spent getting my sea legs has also reminded me of the navigational approach the ancient mariners called “By Guess and By God.” Before charts and fancy run-on-its-own technology, the mariners used three simple navigational tools: experience, intuition, and faith.

Experience, intuition, and faith…its a trinity fits beautifully into my tapestry.