When the Boat “Planes”

by Marcia Lee Laycock, @MarciaLaycock

When I was about nine years old my father taught me how to run the small motor on our ten-foot boat. I was thrilled that my father trusted me enough to let me take it out all by myself.

I was cautious at first, only going out on the lake when the wind was down, and only opening the engine’s throttle half way. I would chug around our small bay and come back to the dock, feeling very mature. Then one day my dad went with me. We ploughed along the shore for a while. Then Dad turned to me and made a hand motion indicating I was to open the throttle more. I moved it a couple of notches. He signalled for more. I took a deep breath and opened it up, all the way.

Then it happened. That old boat rose up and began to plane - the power of the motor was enough to overcome the resistance of the water and lift the boat. It made my heart soar as it almost seemed to fly across the lake. When we returned to the dock, my dad smiled. “Don’t be afraid of it,” he said. “The motor is made to drive the boat forward.”

There have been times in my spiritual life when I’ve been like that old boat and motor, chugging along with little energy or delight. I knew the truths of the Christian faith, the disciplines that are meant to move us forward in our faith, but I was only employing them half heartedly, with little faith that they would really make any difference. The doubts and fears of life had crept in and were blocking my sight, blocking my effectiveness.

Recently that has begun to change. I’ve been pondering the meaning of what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.”

I have always believed that Jesus, by dying on the cross, opened the way for me to come into God’s presence, but I am just beginning to comprehend that He also opened the way for us to have complete union with Him and His Father. In John 15:5 Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

The power of that realization is beginning to make my spiritual life like that old boat when it planes. Suddenly I’m soaring.

God has trusted us with gifts and talents and all we need to do good work (like writing novels and devotionals and poetry that sings). We are empowered to do that work when we do it in Christ, in His power and wisdom, not our own.

“If anyone speaks (or writes), they should do so as one who speaks (or writes) the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1Peter 4:11 parentheses mine).

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When the boat “Planes” by Marcia Lee Laycock (Click to Tweet)

Suddenly I was soaring. #InChrist, #Christian novels, #Christian writers~ Marcia Lee Laycock (Click to Tweet)

God has trusted us with gifts and talents and all we need to do is work.~ Marcia Lee Laycock (Click to Tweet)

One Smooth Stone

Alex Donnelly is running from his past, the police, and from God. The Yukon is a good place to hide until a young lawyer shows up at his cabin with news that draws him back to his birth place in search of the truth about his family. What he finds throws him into turmoil once again. What will it take for Him to surrender?

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has four devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.