Let Go of the Rope

I am not a sailor. I grew up in the mountains of the Adirondacks on the shores of Lake Champlain, and it seemed everyone had a sailboat and could sail. The lakes were beautiful, with the sailboats all out with their colorful sails.

A dear friend once told me he would teach me to sail. Off we went. He handed me the rope to hold the sail while he got us out of the little bay we were in and out onto the lake. Soon we were out on the lake. The wind caught the sail, and we started to “fly” across the water. The boat began tilting at a frightening angle. To say I was scared to death would be an understatement. But I was committed. I didn’t let go of the rope he had given me. In fact, the harder the wind blew, the tighter I held onto that rope. The more I pulled the rope tight to my chest, the faster the boat went, the more it tilted, and the more frightened I became. Finally, I heard my friend’s voice over the wind screaming at me, “Let go of the rope!” It took a sheer act of will to let go of that rope. But when I did, the boat slowed and straightened.

Letting go of the rope took the tightness and pressure off the sail, and all became calm and manageable. My fear disappeared as soon as I let go of the rope.

In the Gospel today, I think that God is telling the disciples much the same thing. They are proclaiming their unfaltering love and he, knowing they will soon scatter, says,

“…But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world, you will have trouble but take courage. I have conquered the world.” (John 16:29-33)

Have you ever felt alone? I don’t mean lonely. I mean the aloneness that lives deep in the soul and wants more. The place inside yourself that yearns for completeness. For a long time, I thought I felt that because I am not married. Over the years, I have come to realize we all have it. There is a yearning in us for completeness. A craving only God can fill. A place in our soul reserved for God alone. I have come to believe that only God can fill that place in me, and with humility, I think there is a place in God that only I can fill.

In this reading, Jesus was telling the Apostles again that their lives would not be comfortable, they would have trouble. Once again, Jesus was showing them the way. When they had difficulties, when they felt alone, Jesus was telling them he felt the same thing. Jesus reminded them, just before His darkest hours, that he was not alone. The Father was with Him.
When we feel the longing in our soul, and know an aloneness that nothing can fill, we must remember today’s words and the words we heard yesterday, “You are not alone, I am here waiting to fill the empty places in your soul and to calm your fears.

Many years ago, when I was terrified in that sailboat, my friend’s words over the wind, were the words of God, given to me to carry me through a lifetime. When life is hard, you are afraid, and the feeling of aloneness threatens to overwhelm, “Let go of the rope.”

We all tend to pull in and tighten our grasp on the things we can control when life becomes overwhelming. Much like the harder I held onto that rope, in the sailboat, the more I withdraw when I feel alone today, the more frightened and isolated I become.

When those times of feeling empty and alone come, we need to take every bit of courage we have and, “Let go of the rope!” When we can do that, life will calm, and we will know the presence of God. His promise at the Ascension, and His example in today’s reading, are fulfilled. Life will calm, and we will know His commitment is real. We are not alone.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen