To Lose Sight of the Shore

I sat quietly in a small room at the hospital waiting to pick up x-rays to take to my doctor. I had discovered a lump in my neck and had tests run. I was nervous as I sat waiting. I observed my surroundings, eyeing everything I could possibly look at, so that I could keep my mind busy. I didn’t need to self-diagnose, and I was in danger of doing just that as I waited.

On the wall in front of me was a series of photocopied papers, some cut in small pieces while others were left whole. On each I read a quote. There were a few that I’m sure were for humorous purposes, but there were others, I was confident, were placed on the wall for people like me – nervous, waiting, and wondering what news we might receive that day. My eyes quickly settled on one quote and I got out the little notebook I carry around in my purse. I hastily scribbled down the words and shoved the book back in my purse. I didn’t want to appear weird. Sometimes seeing someone frantically writing in a notebook can make others feel uncomfortable. Still, I knew I wanted to remember those words.

“You can never cross the ocean if you don’t have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

When I got home, I did some quick research to find who penned such a meaningful statement. Many sites wrongly attributed the quote to Christopher Columbus. The quote, it turns out, came from André Gide, a French writer and Nobel Peace Prize winner. And while the quote I read is beautiful, the actual quote reads, “One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore.” Either way the words are written, they are deeply moving.

As I pondered this quote, I knew the words could be applied to both my secular life and my faith life. In my secular life, I thought of the opportunities I have passed up as the years crept by, because I wasn’t willing to try something new. I thought about the years wasted with my writing, worrying that no one would want to read what I had to say, or would find meaning in my words. I thought of the times I was scared to make a fool out of myself by dancing, singing, or being silly, and so missed out on many moments of pure joy and happiness. It made me sad. Here I was waiting for test results that could possibly change my world, and I had so many regrets. I wish I had done more. I wish I had been willing to “discover new lands”.

As the days passed, I began to think more about my faith life than my secular life, and how this quote applied to me. I found that this quote correlated even more so to my faith than to the secular side of myself. Sure, I would have regrets for allowing opportunities to slip through my fingertips by not taking a job, not trying to publish a book, or not getting up and being silly with my friends. However, those regrets would not hold a candle to the heartache I felt when I began to think of the faith opportunities I missed, because I was unwilling to lose sight of the shore and trust that God would be there to guide my ship.

When we trust in God, we often have to lose sight of the shore. We have to let go of ourselves and allow Him to navigate the ocean of our lives. It’s a frightening thought to leave behind what we know. It is scary to see the safety of familiarity drift off into the distance, as we set out to become new people. But God asks us to trust in Him. He knows we will never truly change if we don’t let go of the shoreline, that is, when we won’t let go of ourselves. To discover His world and His love, we must be willing to set adrift in waters that may be unfamiliar and that are daunting to us. We trust in the Captain and know that He knows the way, even when the seas are rough. And they will be rough. There will be times when the seas we sail upon will toss us and try to drown us. But there will also be days where the skies are beautiful and the seas are calm.

God asks each of us to trust in Him and to allow Him to change us. He asks us to follow Him, letting go of the shoreline, and setting sail upon unknown seas. Along the way, we are sure to see things we could never imagine and have experiences that both frighten and elate us. Yet, if we never let go of the shore, if we never let go of ourselves, we will never be able to experience anything different than what we see now. The tide will come in and the tide will go out. The sun will rise and the sun will set. We will be the same people we were yesterday and the day before. But when we leave the safety of the shore and set sail with God as the Captain of our lives, we will change in a way we could never imagine.

As it states in the quote, it takes courage to set out on uncharted seas. It can seem overwhelming. Some may wonder why you would ever trust in God and leave the safety of what you already know. To others, it may seem irresponsible to leave the safety of the shore, but it is not. It is courageous and exhilarating to trust in God and in His plan for your life. If you allow God to work within your life, guiding you in all you do, you will see beautiful and amazing things, you will go on adventures, and you will fully experience life.

When you leave the safety of the shore and trust in God to help you sail your ship, you will discover new things about yourself, about your world, and about God. He wants you to accept His invitation to accompany Him on this adventure. Will you leave the safety of the shore when He calls you set sail with Him?