Redeemed Hulls
Last summer, David took his airboat down to the coast when we went on vacation. During the 2nd ride of the weekend, the prop slung apart sending large shards of wood through the side of the hull. David jumped ship as the boat began to take on water. A fellow airboater came to his rescue and towed him to shore. This was the 3rd time the airboat tried to kill David, so he decided to patch up the hull and try a new angle.
He has since created a paddle wheel (yup, just like the old steamboats) that fits on the old airboat hull. He patched up the damaged parts, got rid of the remnants of the cage and rigging from the airboat, and is currently designing a rudder system to steer this new contraption.
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical when David began this project. He can come up with some pretty wild ideas sometimes. I’ve been watching him work on this boat for almost a year now, but I never imagined it would actually work.
Well, it does work; and it’s actually a lot of fun to ride in. It’s not nearly as loud as the airboat was and it keeps a moderate pace all of the time. Once he adds some seats and gets the steering controls finished, it’s going to be a nice boat to use on a regular basis.
Through this boat renovation process, I have been reminded of how God works in our lives. Just like the airboat broke apart and had to be dismantled, so do we. God’s got to break apart who we once were and dismantle the lives we built for ourselves. But then, using the same hull, He patches up the damaged parts, gets rid of the remnants of the old cage (captivity in sin), and designs a whole new rudder system to steer this brand new creation He has designed. I’m blown away at how God takes a vessel that can’t even float and creates something completely new and totally usable. And just like the patches on the airboat act as a reminder of a crazy and remarkable story; we, too, have scars that tell a story of God’s amazing grace in our lives.
I’ll leave you with one thing to chew on: Your “hull” is never too damaged to be redeemed.
