It’s that time of year again when we have to get our 1978 sailboat ready to launch. I’m a fair weather sailor. I don’t really like our boat to be very heeled over. In my head I know the boat won’t tip all the way over, but I still haven’t learned to trust it in my heart. I guess I still have a lot to learn about sailing and life. I need to figure out how to better adjust my sails to the prevailing wind.
The words wind, breath and spirit are all the same word in Hebrew and Greek. It was the wind/spirit/ breath of God that moved over the first waters of creation. And that same breath/spirit creates us each day. “Trust the wind” I tell myself as I cling to the side rails or hand the helm back over to Tim, my husband.
Tim and I were blessed to be sailboat partners with Denise and Dennis Hamsher. It’s an old boat but still in good shape thanks to Dennis who was meticulous in his care of her. When we would sail together it was no surprise to us that Denise liked to be captain. She was in charge and fully at the helm. Sailing I think is a good metaphor for life and it certainly fit for Denise. In sailing, and in life, the wind at times doesn’t take you exactly where or how you want to go and so you have to learn to adjust your sails. Denise was a master at adjusting her sails. A diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer in the weeks just following her retirement wasn’t part of the plan, but Denise adjusted her sails. She lived with a fearless passion, gratitude and courage while walking humbly with God. She took no day for granted and in the short time she had she saw all three of her children married, six grandchildren join her family and she created countless beautiful quilts.
The day before Denise died, I gathered with her and her family. She wanted to plan her memorial service and it was truly a sacred time together. When I asked her what scriptures she wanted, she immediately said – Micah 6:8
“And what does the Lord require of you?
To do justice and love kindness and walk humbly a with your God.”
Yes, we all agreed that it was so fitting. This was the passage that was the guide for her journey through life. On her Facebook page the day before the mid-term elections she had posted Vote Tomorrow with these words:
“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” -Interpretive translation of Talmudic texts
I will remember Denise as I climb into our boat for the first sail of this season, wishing that she was once again at the helm. I miss her so, but I will push out and on, trusting the wind, the Breath of life that holds her Spirit and all of us. And I will try to learn just how to adjust my sails until we see her again on that far shore.
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