Thursday, November 26, 2009

Confessions of a Jet-Ski rider

I saw a Waverunner for sale the other day. It brought back memories.

I owned a Waverunner for many years and loved the feeling of being on the water early on a calm clear day. Long before the other boats were out, when the lake Milton was just one huge mirror, I loved to throttle my Yamaha wide open and race across the surface.

Strange thing about running wide open it's only fun for so long before you get tired of it. Wide open makes every turn, every maneuver hazardous. The slightest swell is an obstacle. Splash boom. Splash boom. Wide open your body has to absorb every jarring splash as the boat skims over even the slightest waves. Wide open you can't enjoy the scenery, your eyes fixed on water ahead. Wide open you can't tow a skier, a wake boarder, a knee boarder. Wide open burns fuel at a ridiculously insane rate.

Wide open is no fun for those left behind in the wake as you speed by. It's frustrating to the other boaters, other skiers since they never know when you will turn and crash and burn. Wide open.

Wide open is all about the speed and never about beauty of the lake.

Wide open.

Wide open is too often how I want to do ministry, blazing ahead, throttle wide open, flying across the river of life. There's a rush about what comes with a wide open lifestyle, a wide open ministry philosophy. But strange thing about running wide open, you can only do it for so long, before the body tires of a hasty turn leads to a crash and burn.

Wide open.

How are you running as a leader? Have you been running wide open for too long?

Throttle back and enjoy the ride. You'll stay on the water longer.

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