Pastor Message

Be careful which boat you buy.  Or maybe you’re not in the market for a boat but the still face the same conundrum – What are you about to add or subtract to your life that will permanently change things?

For years I have been paralyzed by option overload when it comes to boats. I enjoy water skiing, so maybe I should get a ski boat and use it for the occasional fishing trip. But then, why not get a pontoon boat with enough horsepower to pull a skier and still have room for a large group on a sunset cruise? And yet, a simple fishing boat would probably do the most things reasonably well and be much easier to load, unload, and maintain.

Maybe you’ve felt that same kind of overload.  Perhaps your decision isn’t about a silly boat, but more important things like where to live, which job to take, whether to retire, whether to move closer to family, or whether this is the right person to marry. Life presents us with choices that, once made, close off other possibilities. As we often say, “You have to live with it.”

And then something surprising happens.  You start living with it.  You learn the quirks. You discover the limitations. You appreciate the hidden benefits.  The unfamiliar becomes familiar. A restriction becomes a framework for life. Over time, what you chose becomes part of who you are.

The writer Daniel Cooperrider, in his book Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You, writes, “Mountains are edge experiences. They bring us to the vertical edge of this world, and perhaps also to an edge or boundary of the self.”  I think that mountain metaphor applies to much more than hiking. Decisions themselves are edge experiences. So are commitments. So are seasons of transition. Whenever we stand at the edge of a choice, we can see farther than we usually do.

On the edge, we see more. We see farther. We see what really matters.  And perhaps most importantly, on the edge we become aware of God’s presence.  The mountains remind us. The lakes remind us. The big decisions remind us. Even the boat we eventually buy reminds us. Life is not about keeping every option open forever. Life is about learning to trust God’s presence wherever we find ourselves.  So if you find yourself standing at the edge of a decision this summer, don’t be surprised if God offers something more than an answer.

Last summer I did pick up a 1980’s Alumicraft Lunker 14…the rest of the story still needs to be written if it will land us some lunkers or turn out to be a junker!  But that is the boat I will live with!

Grace and peace, Pastor Tim