Yesterday I took a surf lesson and let’s just say if I ever want to continue in pursuit of surfing, I’m going to need more than one lesson!
The ocean is underestimated and it’s because of that that people get hurt and sometimes killed.
I was out at the beach one afternoon and before we even got in the water to try and surf I looked at the waves and didn’t even think that they were big enough to surf with. Well, I was certainly wrong. Our instructor led us out beyond the waves to the place just before they begin to form. We waited and the first wave I rode in on was while lying flat on the board just to get a feel for it all. The next few waves were very similar but each time I finished a wave, my biggest fear was getting back out to the starting point. The resistance of the waves was more exhausting than the actual surfing!
In the middle of that time, I had some deep thoughts that could have only been from the Lord. My first thought originated when I was asked by our instructor what I was doing here in South Africa and that led me to reflect on how important it is to live in a Christ like way all the time.
As I was struggling with surfing and feeling like I couldn’t do it anymore, I remembered that I couldn’t just give up because what would that be showing others about what it means to live a life with Jesus?
Each time a new wave was going in to shore and I was going out to sea there was a lot of resistance and with each wave a decision needed to be made. There were three options to choose from at the sight of a wave: 1. Do nothing and be swallowed by the waves 2. Attempt to jump over the wave and risk a good amount of resistance to knock you down or 3. Dive underneath the wave and submit to the power that it holds.
The ocean and it’s waves remind me a lot of how the Lord is in our lives.
God symbolizes the waters and the challenges we face are symbolized by the waves. There are some waves bigger than others and for that, it is a bigger burden to take on in the same way that a smaller wave represents a smaller burden. As we walk against the challenges, it is our choice to decide how we take those on. When we do nothing, we are allowing the enemy to enter into our lives in way that leads us to a life of chaos. When we choose to jump over the wave we are submitting to the fact that there is power in it just like there is in the Lord but there is a part of us that holds on to our pride, restricting us from fully submitting because we believe we can take it. The last choice we have is of total submission to the fact that the power of God, and in this case, the power of a wave is greater than our individual strength and for that, we must dive underneath it!
There is so much beauty in the ocean and what it has to offer that it’s power is often overlooked! I really appreciated my time to reflect on such thoughts and because of that I can now share with you what the Lord is stirring up inside of me.
As I move forward into the month of February I want to start out with an announcement that I will be “fasting” from wifi for the whole month. My intentions in this are to focus more deeply in prayer for all the people I would be contacting in moments that I would get wifi! I am also preparing my time to meet up with my mom in March for the Parent Vision Trip. My intentions with that preparation are to pray for what the Lord wants to do in both of our lives during that week that we will have.
Thank you for the continued support and God Bless!
