Back on Track

The sun blazed overhead as we arrived in Swakopmund, a coastal town renowned for its stunning dunes and adrenaline-inducing activities. The bus ride from Windhoek was relaxing and scenic. It was my first time in Namibia and I must admit, the picturesque landscapes of Namibia made our honeymoon a much-welcomed dream. My husband, Ceaser, had meticulously planned every detail of our trip, from the accommodations to the thrilling activities that dotted our itinerary. Looking back now, this trip foreshadowed all future adventures he would take joy in planning. This being the first vacation we had taken together though, it was evident that his idea of the perfect vacation differed slightly from mine. You see, Ceaser had booked us a morning of dune surfing, a prospect that left me feeling less than enthused. While he was undoubtedly drawn to the thrill of the sport, I found myself yearning for a more relaxed and tranquil vacation experience. Nevertheless, with a sense of determination, I begrudgingly joined Ceaser as we made our way to the lofty sand dunes that appeared on the horizon. Our instructor greeted us warmly, his enthusiasm for the sport palpable as he explained the basics of sandboarding and the importance of maintaining balance and control. We had planned to go and cancel our activity, but our very enthused instructor persuaded us not to, claiming he had woken up early and gone to work that day simply for us. We learned, as we got onto the bus that would take us to the dunes, that he had in fact, 6 other willing participants booked that day. I wasn’t impressed.

As we strapped ourselves onto our sandboards, I couldn’t shake the apprehension that gnawed at my insides. The instructor’s words echoed in my mind as he cautioned us to keep the front of our boards and our feet up, lest we risk losing control and tumbling headfirst into the sand below. With a deep breath, I pushed off from the dune’s crest, feeling the rush of adrenaline as I swept down the sandy slope. Surprisingly, my first attempt went relatively smoothly, and I found myself beginning to relax into the experience, the wind whipping through my hair as I carved my way down the dune. But as the saying goes, pride comes before a fall. brightened by my initial success, I let my guard down on my second descent, allowing overconfidence to cloud my judgment. Before I knew it, I had veered off course and in a matter of seconds, my sandboard spun out of control, sending me tumbling head over heels into a haze of sand. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, leaving me gasping for air as I lay sprawled amidst the swirling particles. As I struggled to free myself from the very sandy and very unwanted embrace of the dune, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassment and frustration coursing through me. Sand had filled every crevice of my being, my mouth, my eyes, my ears, even my underwear! I was dishevelled, defeated and done. Before I even got up, I resolved to take my cue and sit the rest of the morning out. I could watch and cheer while I tried to get some level of cuteness back. This was my honeymoon for crying out loud! With a resigned sigh, I glanced in Ceaser’s direction, half-expecting to see a look of disappointment. Yes, performance was still such an issue for me back then. Instead, he met me with amusement and an outstretched hand. I took his hand, but I wasn’t pleased about being the butt of everyone’s jokes for the rest of the morning. While they laughed, I kept thinking… “I need to quickly replace that experience with something more relaxed, something to get our honeymoon back on track.”

On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” ~ Acts 1:4-5 (NIV)

This year is a leap year and for the first time, I was curious as to why this extra day is added to our calendar every four years. I don’t remember learning this in school because the information I got when I researched this was fascinating. Get this, an extra day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure because the Earth does not orbit the Sun in precisely 365 days. We have to leap forward to catch up for the time we drift behind due to our inability to track the astronomical cycle with exact precision. This got me thinking about that almost automatic drift that takes place when we aren’t paying close attention to staying on track. With each degree of difference, we drift farther and farther away from the course we’re supposed to be on. The tricky bit is that this happens without us even trying. Yikes! Yet isn’t it just like God to know this and plan for us to stay on track with Him? You bet it is! God wants to bring us back on track, back into alignment with His plan for our lives. And just like everything else concerning our relationship with God, we have to participate in pursuing alignment.

In the Old Testament, the Jews had a way of coming back on track through their festivals and pilgrimages to Jerusalem every so often. This was the way that God had designed for them to take time out from their busy programs and the tendency to drift off. I believe this is why Jesus had his disciples stay in Jerusalem to await the fulfilment of the promised Holy Spirit. Jerusalem was their place of spiritual centre. What is your spiritual centre? You are a spirit being who has a soul and lives in a body. This means that for you to be truly on track, balanced, centred and aligned, you need to know your spiritual centre. Even as we pursue God’s purpose for our lives, we have to have to frequently come back to our centre, so we don’t get off track. Why? Because we all tend to drift without even trying to. When we actively pursue alignment with God, our ability to hear God, who knew us before we were born, is sharpened. God knows the real you. He knows your past, your present and your future so only He can align you correctly. When we’re out of alignment or starting to drift off track, we lose passion and get weary easily because our grace and favour are only on the aligned track, not where we’ve drifted off to. It’s safe to say we all know what that feels like, huh? This being a reality we all know and understand; how can we actively pursue alignment or get re-aligned if we have drifted off track?

Don’t delay

One thing I love about David is that he was a regular man and when he drifted off track, which happened regularly, he was quick to come back to God and re-centre. I believe that God wants to invest in people who are quick to come back on track when they sense that they’ve drifted. David was desperate to be aligned with God, to please God and to live out the plan God had for his life. Desperate people, people desperate for God, don’t hesitate. The more we delay, the farther away we drift off track and while we’re way over there, we pick up new habits that continue to take us away from who we truly are. Off track, we commit ourselves to things that don’t feed into our true identities, the ones that God knew in the secret place. That said, prioritise getting back on track. When we get the slightest whiff of some unfamiliar air around you, check back into your centre.

Do the work

We drift because it’s hard work to stay on track. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Regardless of this though, you have to believe that you’re worth the fight of staying on track. Stop often and check your alignment. That’s work too! Self-examination, which is asking God to search our hearts and point out the things in there that offend Him takes humility and submission… strength. You have to be desperate enough and brave enough to make this a priority because being close enough to God isn’t enough, He wants each of us right in the middle of the track, centred with Him. What I’ve found to be true is that sometimes doing the work will mean saying no to certain recreations, certain friends, certain opportunities and certain places. Anything and anyone that gets you off track must go on the chopping block. As a final thought here, don’t base your alignment on other people’s alignment. Just because so and so does such and such, you may feel better off but no honey, the track is over there and you’re not on it. 

Dare to be disciplined

When you check yourself and determine that you’ve drifted off course, get back to your familiar disciplines. I tend to think of being on track as running long distances once you’ve hit your stride and you’re in a groove, feeling good and strong with healthy stamina. When you’re off track, it can sometimes be difficult to remember where the track even is and a quick way to get back is to listen for the running steps of others. Get back to the simple disciplines such as prayer, listening to worship music, attending cell group meetings and even getting back to in-person services at your local church. These disciplines won’t feel exciting but like I said earlier, if you’ve drifted off track, chances are that your habits have changed, and you’ll have to work yourself back up to the place where you were last in your spiritual groove. In my personal life, there are a few things I do to get on track and stay on track. I’m sure if you tried to recall when you were last in that spiritual groove, feeling good and spiritually strong, you too could list down three to five disciplines that bring you back to your centre. When you fall off or drift off, just get back into those disciplines. It may not be easy but it’s that simple. God designed us to be disciplined and steady people and His grace is sufficient for us if we are eager to lean into it.

Determine your environment

The thing about places is that they come with people and habits which means that by eliminating certain environments, we could be eliminating several other triggers that veer us off track. Don’t allow yourself to go wherever the wind blows you (pilingu-pilingu, as my mother would say). It’s your life and you must determine where you go and where you don’t. You know you, and you know what places don’t serve your purpose in life. Cut them off. They’re not worth it. If you fall into the same traps over and over, living life in an endless cycle, determine your environment. Check to see what patterns show up in your life and how they might be connected to certain places or certain people you only see in certain places. Again, His grace is sufficient for you because He is your biggest cheerleader as you run in the middle of your life’s track.

Being aligned and living on track isn’t about living a life of perfection. No, on this side of heaven when we only see in part, we do our best to stay as close to Holy Spirit as we can. God knows our challenges, He knows that just like the earth we call home, we drift, and He gave us His Spirit, our Coach and Compass, to help us come back to the centre of our track. It’s Him who will help us to stay sensitive and quick to come back. It’s Him who will help us do the work of pursuing alignment. It’s Him who will teach us to be disciplined as we follow His lead and it’s Him who will help us determine the environments that set us up for success or trip us up and off track. Wherever you are on your life’s track, it’s never too late to come back and it’s not impossible to stay on track. I pray you will be brave enough to check in and see where you’re at.