He has set Eternity in the human heart

On the M25, the orbital motorway that surrounds London, there was a piece of graffiti written on a wall in large letters, visible to all sat in the daily traffic jam, which read “Why do I do this every day?”  When I lived in the Midlands, my job took me that way once a month, and along with millions of other motorists, I groaned every time I saw it!

It was a running commentary on how far our lives are from the desires of our hearts and how much our broken world (and the broken people within it) refuses to cooperate. Whilst childhood dreams quickly evaporate and the idealism and promise of youth yield to duty and obligation, the angst remains as St Augustine frames it for us, “our hearts are restless until they rest in You”

The things we love on earth can be brief glimpses of eternity and keep us going, the sunsets, the mountains and valleys, the smell of rain and for others, sea spray and a billowing sail.

I know a couple of sailors and in my quest to learn new things every year, I picked up a book called ‘sailing made easy’. I was finding it informative and started to pick up the terms and language; the author though seemed to be a sailing scientist rather than a buccaneer until half way through the manual he suddenly spoke from the heart and said that sailing was “the sensation of being propelled by an invisible and silent force that induces first awe, then wonder, then the desire to understand how it all works”

And then I understood. How close he came to identifying what we are all really seeking.

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going, so it is with everyone born of the Spirit”

Sailing is analogous to being born of the Spirit. If you are in the Spirit’s flow without hindrance you are sailing downwind or running.  More usually we encounter resistance and will have to trim our sails to find the optimum speed and direction, and tack to move forwards gradually, akin to a process of listening prayer or discernment: a constant process of adjustment really to stay in line with the Spirit and maintain the course He sets.

I imagine then that a sailor who is also born of the Spirit has a double portion of Joy and an excellent hope of reaching the desired eternal port safely. If you’ll excuse the pun, St Augustine has just thrown me another line…  “God provides the Wind, man must raise the sails”