Drag Boat Review Magazine - Team RFC Straightline

You Can Never Drive Too Slow

These monthly “Straightline” columns contain racing adventures and stories of real life helping us to remember the myriads of episodes during our lives containing chapters of reflection of what we’ve done and what we’ve witnessed. Hopefully they show us how to refocus—on teachings and personal stories that transcend mere dates and accomplishments—on our lives as we prepare for what happens before and after we cross the finish line on earth.

This month’s column contains some insights from a recent real-life experience out on the water of the Pacific Ocean. There are times in life where profound things happen, like being aware of our surroundings while taking it all in, full-well knowing where these ideas come from.

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I’d been praying for inspiration for a new “Straightline” column. The old phrase, “ask and you shall receive” happened just before Christmas, so here goes with some truly reflective life and spiritual lessons.

Good friend and brother in Christ, Brien Metcalf, had been asking Linda and I for years to come to San Diego, CA and go for a short cruise on the yacht he pilots in and around one of the many marinas in San Diego. They have a “Parade of Lights” on two separate Sunday nights in December, so we decided it was time to take him up on his offer. During this time of year when giving is the norm during Christmas, I received a heavenly gift on that December night.

As you can see by the title, “You can never drive too slow” is opposite of what racing is mainly about. Being a drag racing fan for over six decades, I’ve always wanted the racing machines to keep going faster, and faster through the years—and they have. Going slow doesn’t fit in with extremely fast racing cars and boats.

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The story began on a sunny Saturday afternoon aboard a beautiful sixty-three-foot yacht named “Jenesey,” moored in the marina by the Sheraton Hotel Resort on Harbor Drive. We were able to check out the boat for an hour in preparation for the Sunday night cruise. Unbeknownst to me, inspiration was waiting to be revealed by a man on a special occasion with a special group of fifteen people on board the Jenesey.

We were asked to remove our shoes as we boarded the boat. Since it was almost Christmas, a very holy time of the year as it should be, heralding the entrance of God into human history. As believers we should realize we walk on holy ground every day of our earthly life, just like Moses did when God asked him to remove his sandals as he came near the burning bush.

After an all-aboard brief safety meeting, I followed Brien around as he fired up the boat, untied the boat, and carefully backed her out of the slip. Once underway in the marina, we headed out towards the harbor at the break-neck speed of three knots. As we were heading out to the area where the “Parade of Lights” was to take place, Brien looked at me and said, “You can never drive too slow.” That was an interesting comment from a guy who races a seven second, hundred twenty mph drag boat and drives a pro-street Nova drag car. After our three-hour cruise these words really struck a chord with me.

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Out of the marina and into the harbor is where and when the lessons came into play. We arrived at our viewing spot along with other boats off to our port and starboard sides waiting for the show to begin in an hour. As the Jenesey was idling in neutral, Brien left the upper pilot control deck and went down to the main deck of the boat where most of the guests were hanging out.

It seemed strange to me that the captain left the helm to go below. After a few minutes, my mind was getting a little unsettled as we were simply drifting in the harbor, not moving far, but the captain was not at the wheel. As the minutes ticked off it seemed like a long time, maybe ten or fifteen minutes before Brien came back up to the top deck, and I was relieved to see him back behind the wheel.

In truth, he wasn’t at the wheel, Brien steered the boat using its twin engines, with independent forward and reverse propellors to control the boat. It was a real treat to watch him confidently pilot the boat. He was truly the leader (he headed up the logistics part of the cruise). He was the pilot of the boat (carefully steering it on its planned course). He was captain of the boat (in charge of the cruise). He was the overseer of the boat (responsible for the passengers). And he was the shepherd of the boat (it was his flock to keep safe and sound during the cruise).

There are times in life where profound things happen, like being aware of our surroundings while taking it all in, full-well knowing where these ideas come from.

One of the things I learned was to trust Brien as the captain and shepherd of the boat. He was a true professional and I was truly impressed with everything he did during the time we were on board. This trust in the captain was observed by the other passengers as they were relaxed and at peace during the cruise.

In the heavenly realm—life events often help us to get a spiritual point across—we must put our complete trust in Jesus Christ as our Captain and as our Shepherd as He guides our personal ship in life. He is the One responsible for our eternal life in heaven, and He is responsible as our Good Shepherd to lead, guide, and protect us on our earthly voyage.

These passengers were friends and family, people created by God who were a great mix of God’s children in an early Christmas celebration, enjoying each other’s company, some arrayed in festive clothes, and feasting on delicious appetizers brought aboard to share with one another.

When riding as a passenger on a boat, yacht, or a big cruise ship, we must have faith in the captain to know how to steer the boat safely to its destination and back. If we don’t have faith in our captain, we shouldn’t board his boat. “Faith comes by hearing” spoken and then believed.

Jesus’ disciple’s literally rode-out some rough waters with Jesus asleep in the stern of their boat as they crossed the Sea of Galilee. They started out with faith, but their faith waned as the conditions became dark, stormy, and tumultuous. Later when on another voyage seeing Jesus walking on the water, the apostle Peter had enough faith, at first, to step out of the boat and began to walk on the water, but the darkness and the storm got the better of him as his faith decreased he began to sink. Jesus lovingly reached out his hand and saved Peter form going under the water.

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Now knowing that the captain was in control was a soothing feeling aboard the Jenesey, and it made for a joyful time out on the water. There were many other boats out in the harbor, and the captains of those boats were unknown to all of us passengers, so we only had to have faith and trust and confidence in our own pilot to bring us back home safely.

Being out in the large body of water like the harbor was a little unnerving in the dark of night, as some of the smaller boats were barely lit up, as the bigger boats were equipped with bigger and more lights to be able to see them in the dark.

I’m sure you have noticed we live in a dark world—spiritually speaking—and we all need a very bright light to navigate our lives. Jesus Christ is our guiding Light to keep us from getting lost in the literal dark world.

Since this was a Christmas “Parade of Lights” in December, it should naturally invite us to slow down from the hectic pace of the world we all live in and reflect the season of celebrating the incredible truth that God stepped into our world through the birth of His only Son, bringing hope and peace to all those who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God” (a timeless truth essential for the well-being of our soul). Like this verse, it’s time to realize “You can never drive to slow” in this conflicted world we live in embroiled in turmoil. We must slow down and be still to hear the voice of God. We must slow down to see what He wants us to see. I see many people scurrying around too busy to slow down and smell the fresh salty air of the Pacific Ocean, moving way too fast to understand that low and slow is an okay way to live.

After the “Parade of Lights” passed us, our captain put the boat in forward gear and powered to about thirteen knots sort-of following the parade and cruised to the end of the harbor towards the town to see the parade from a different perspective. It was a little eerie traveling in the dark with hundreds of other boats in the harbor.

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The cruise was more than just a three-hour journey in the San Diego harbor; it was an unexpected lesson from the hand of the Lord. And the best part was grasping that the inspiration I was asking for was part of the adventure on the boat with some wonderful people and knowing we were in the capable hands of a noble captain. Thusly, understanding we’re always in the capable hands of the eternal Captain Jesus Christ. A genuine revelation revealed on the waters of the Pacific Ocean while on a pleasure cruise with great friends.

The cruise began with a prayer of blessing over the passengers and over our voyage and sharing a Christmas poem about God’s Amazing Love. God had commissioned [equipped] one of the passengers [me] to bring a message [trust and faith] of eternal hope, unimaginable joy, and restoration [wherever we may be] to all on board. The Gospel message is not meant to be hoarded [even on board a boat] but meant to be shouted [spoken] from the rooftops from someone who has experienced Christ’s all-surpassing grace, beauty, goodness, and truth. God’s inspiration and lessons are often fulfilled through the involvement of other people in our life.

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Getting the boat back to the slip meant the voyage was coming to the end of an exciting journey that started in the daylight and concluded in the dark of night. Another lesson learned from Brien as we were headed back to the boat slip at the marina was, we could see marina and hotel lights in the distance and see their reflection aiming at us in the water as we slowly cruised-in around three knots. The lesson was when looking at the lights’ reflections in the water: If the reflection is unbroken, that means the path is clear. But, if the reflection in the water is broken, it means there is something in the water between you and the light.

What a great lesson about light. Just as the sun is the greater light and the moon is the lesser light as the moon reflects the sun light, we as followers of Christ are to reflect the light of Christ and do our best to not let anything come between us and the Son Light to break our fellowship with God. So, tell me friends, why would anyone want to disrupt the relationship—and the eternal gift of love—we have with our heavenly Leader, Pilot, Captain, Overseer and Shepherd?

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The final lesson on that night was Brien parking the Jenesey—we also learned two weeks later he was a “Licensed 100 Ton Master Private Yacht Captain”—in the slip perfectly after a smooth left turn, he gently guided the boat safely right into its home. Just the way our heavenly Father will one day bring all His children home.

I do my best to write about things we learn in life trying to remember and reflect on these experiences and then refocus on where our focus should be. Our focus should always be on Christ, the light of the world…grasp that He’s the Captain as you’ve been told…make sure with Him you have a good hold…don’t let the cards you’ve been dealt fold…try to become more spiritually bold…demonstrate you’re created from a heavenly Christ-like mold…knowing that your trust and faith in your Eternal Captain is your Guiding Light worth its weight in gold.

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