sail vi …2 a : to travel… by action of wind upon sails… b : to move or proceed easily, gracefully, nonchalantly, or without resistance… vt 1 a : to travel on by means of motive power (as sail) b : to glide through 2 : to direct or manage the motion of (as a ship)
This 31-Day challenge has surprised me—and not in the negative ways I expected it to (with hindrances, calamities, obstacles, illness, or some other stop sign(s) or hurdle(s). Which means this is a true and authentic surprise!
I never in my wildest dreams would have expected this journey to go as smoothly, gracefully, as it has, without all kinds of resistance.
I know, it’s not over yet. Six posts remain to write, edit, and publish before the month ends. Anything could happen. But so far, so amazing.
I think it’s worth pausing for the moment to reckon why this is. What made this voyage smooth and relatively easy up to this point?
First of all, I have to acknowledge that’s not been totally up to me. That’s where the word “gracefully” (from the definition above) comes in. This month, and this “trip,” have been full of grace.
2nd In connection with that, the wind of the Spirit, which is a flowing of grace amazing, is what filled and propelled my sails. Both factors #1 and #2 are Divine, not mine. So I begin my list with deep gratitude. (Thank You, good Heavenly Father!)
3rd The endeavor did need human directing and managing, however. I determined ahead of time that I would give at least some “sit time” to each rough draft, and edit each final draft before publishing. I also knew I’d be away and without internet for three days, so I’d need to pre-write three posts and schedule their publication for while I was gone.
4th Preparation for the journey ahead had taken place rather serendipitously, in that I’d already created most of the collages in meeting a challenge the month before.
5th Rest periods for the sailor (me) made a lot of difference. Besides the weekend away, I allowed myself a Sabbath rest each week. Without that, I think I’d be burned out by now.
6th “Refueling” was also essential. Since the “fuel” of my vessel has been the wind of the Spirit of God in my sails, daily prayer, stirring up of scripture, and just spending time with God Himself kept me supplied.
7th Flexibility has been important, too, to take advantage of unhindered quiet times to write, to work around the trip away, to make allowances for stepping away from the work to get a breather and let my mind refresh. The order in which the posts are getting published has needed to alter here and there, also, as I’ve gone along.
8th Finally, confidence in the Captain of not just this journey but also my soul. Taking this on seemed to be His direction, and if I didn’t think I’d have Him present with me, I wouldn’t have wanted to venture into such a challenge.
Now the irony is that this particular post is getting finished later at night, closer to the day’s “deadline” than any other since the start. In fact, I was getting a bit of a block and didn’t know if I’d finish and publish it before tomorrow rolled around. So…
9th I think my pre-decision to be gentle and gracious to myself in such case actually kept me from freezing up and enabled me to finish, and publish.
***
About the collage construction: Once again, I used pictures of rugs and other house furnishings and decor, from junk mail. The clock had a solid white face, which I cut away with a craft knife, leaving just the numbers, lines, and clock hands. I don’t think I consciously realized how much my placement of the round top of the clock made it resemble a steering wheel and gave the impression of the viewer being at the helm of the boat—or the hours.
*****
Previous posts in this series:
Day 1 Mini Collage and 31-Days Introduction
Day 2 Collage: Nothing-But-Junk Fish
Day 3 Collage: What Grabs Your Heart?
Day 4 Collage: Why I Chose to do this 31 Days–Really
Day 5 Collages: On Being Transparent
Day 6 Collage: Salute to Birds and Dragonflies
Day 7 Collage: Got it Made in the Shade
Collage Day 8: Three Good Children’s Books to Inform Our Lives
Day 9 Collage: Smiles, Smiles (What Makes You Smile?)
Day 10 Collage: Which Way is Out?
Day 11 Collage: Rugged Rocks or Rugs?
Day 12 (non-junk-mail) Collage: “Be Like the Bird…”
Lovelights and Blues (Day 13 Collage)
Day 14 Collage: “Fleur de Free” (Extended Cut Shape Technique)
Day 15 Collage: The Beauty of Serenity
Day 16: Two Collages, Just for the Enjoyment
Day 17 Collage Talk: “Only Words”
Day 18 Collage: Broken Hearts Can Soar
Day 19 Collage: Collage as Therapy? (Plus Cut-and-Fold-Back Technique)
Day 20 Collage: A Beautiful Ride
Day 21 Collage: Birds in Lush Growth
Day 23 Collage: Start Something New Before Finishing the Now
Collage Day 24: Eight Women and an Unseen Guest
I have been honored to be sailing along with you this month…the collages and the words have given momentum to my own commitment to journey with my own writing challenge…I really did not see the helm until you mentioned it and I thought the pattern behind looked like a chain link fence which you sailed right through ?Glad that you set your sails and let the Spirit direct you! I look forward to the rest of the journey!
Well, Kel, having you “here,” “on board,” has been a great honor and blessing to me, too. I have also been visiting your website and reading all your posts, and how encouraging and inspirational they have been to me! I just owe you a lot of comments where I didn’t take the time to write them down on your blog—because I have had a full schedule and lately also seem finally to be encountering choppy waters while running low on fuel—i.e., wind in the right direction! (After all that I just said in the above post!…) Thank you much for being so gracious as to leave comments like this when you have the same writing demands. Now I think I’m going to pay you a visit. 🙂
And oh, yes, before I go… the chain link fence! I didn’t “see” that till you mentioned and wow, it is so symbolic—of the way God so many times has sailed me astoundingly thru obstacles and past hurdles that seemed insurmountable. Thank you for that insight. I think it was just what I needed today!
love this one. might be because I’m partial to the sail boat theme, but the use of your time as you go along the journey also made an impression. For some reason, a phrase I copied out of “Jesus Calling” comes to mind “Go Gently through this day”
Oh, that’s a good saying! I think I’ll copy it down, too. What a good intent to start a day with!