What I Learned On A Sailboat In Puerto Rico
By: Sarah Rexford
Tags: Sailing, Puerto Rico, Lyrics, Jesus, Christian Living

The sailboat rocked under me as I stepped aboard. I glanced around, taking in the hills, the sun, the unreal beauty of Puerto Rico. Even after a hurricane, the terrain and misty air made me want to just go climb mountains.

I took one last look at the furled sails and pulled out my iPhone.

One photo later I hurried the few steps below deck to catch up with the friends I hadn’t seen in so long. But somewhere in my thousands of photos, that one picture of those sails is still on my phone.

I had no idea months later, the imagery of sails would be so transformative to my life.

Falling is easy, but staying in love is hard

Hard to be honest and keep our heart open

To be who we truly are

Without the excuses, without the façade

There’s no pretending

Here in Your love

We’ve all pretended to be something we aren’t at one time or another. I certainly have. It’s not always a bad thing. They say “fake it til you make it!” and as still semi-recent college grad, so far it’s working. I’d like to think…

But with Jesus it’s different.

I’ve found way too often I want to enjoy Jesus without being vulnerable enough to know him. He deserves us to come to him in honesty and vulnerability.

When I’m honest with Jesus he can reveal and teach me what I need specifically.

Because I’ve been honest with myself and admitted it to him, my heart can receive his teaching. Like any relationship, he’s not going to act like he knows things I haven’t told him.

He asks us to be vulnerable, gives us the opportunity, and then reveals truth to us based on our vulnerability. If we aren’t honest with Jesus he can’t reveal to us all he wants to.

If there’s one place we can take down the facade — it’s with Jesus.

If there’s one place we should keep our hearts open and not pretend — it’s with Jesus.

I let out the sails of my heart

Here I am, here You are

I’ve sailed before but not seriously. During the summers growing up though, I did learn a thing or two about sailing.

One thing I learned is you never chart a specific course from where you are to where you want to be.

Sometimes the most effective path isn’t necessarily the shortest.

When sailing, you let out your sails and follow the wind, tacking back and forth until eventually you reach your destination.

Often the best course isn’t the shortest.

Same is true with life.

I have my goals and dreams and I want to chart my path. What I don’t realize is the most effective path to those goals isn’t a straight line.

Success comes with the journey.

It’s when I see my surroundings, when I’m in a season of waiting, when there’s no wind, it’s in the storms of the journey I discover just how far I’m willing to go in working to reach my goals.

Letting out the sails of a sailboat is scary enough. I’ve been stuck in open water before, shivering and cold, for way longer than I wanted to be.

Letting out the sails of my heart is scary too. I don’t know what path Jesus will take me on.

The one thing that gives me enough confidence to move into open water is knowing God meets me in my vulnerability and already knows the course that’s charted.

He charted it, after all!

All I’m really doing is entering a sea of trust, knowing the ultimate destination is Heaven. That’s a win-win.

The only thing left to say is here I am.