Yesterday, 8 of us took a shot at surfing on the Atlantic coast of Porto, Portugal.
Shoot, it was SO fun!
I had only tried surfing one other time and I was never able to actually stand. But today, today I did. We went through our short little class on the beach in our wetsuits and headed out into the water.
We had been shown how to lay on the board, when to paddle to catch the wave, when to put our feet up and which foot to do first. On land, the process was simple. We laughed through our lesson watching each other jump up on the board with quick, exaggerated movements.
As we began, I got scared. The waves seemed big and intimidating and I belly-boarded into shore multiple times, unable to find the courage to stand. I couldn’t seem to get my feet out from behind me and trust the board and the knowledge I had gained in our short lesson. But then, our instructor came behind me, helped me catch a wave and steadied my board the whole way until I was on my feet.
Not long after I got up, I fell down, straight on my bum on the hard sand in the shallow water. It hurt a little, but I got up, adrenaline pumping, ready to try again—my fears had been pushed aside by the excitement of actually succeeding (a little).
I waded back out to where the waves began to crest and got on my board again…and again…and again.
I failed a lot.
Yet through the falls, the crashing down on the water and having to swim back out countless times, I finally did it. I had multiple go’s that left me feeling like I was flying atop the waters’ surface, even if just for a few moments, catchin’ the waves.
As we drove back to our hostel, I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I couldn’t stop talking about how incredible that experience was and how worth the €20 it was.
I began to realize, today was a lot like our walk with Jesus.
It’s a little scary, the waves of life seem to crash so big and so strong that we often can’t find the courage to step out of our comfort zone and do something crazy for Jesus.
And sometimes, when we just take a little chance, we make it, we do something adventurous for the God of the universe.
But sometimes the waves of life knock us back down and we have to find the strength and courage, through the pain and exhaustion, to get back up, shake it off, and take another shot.
What I’ve found on this journey called Life, is that when we keep trying, when we keep taking chances, taking risks, living 100%, all-out for Jesus, he is the one who sustains our ride. He is the one who gives us just enough push to find a little strength in our arms and legs to get us going again. He is the one who gives us the courage to stand when we feel as though the waves are about to knock us onto our bum. He is the one.
I hope to go surfing again one day and I’ll jump at an opportunity to do so. But even more than that, I hope that I jump daily at the opportunity to do something crazy for Jesus. Something adventurous, something out of the ordinary.
As I close out this season of the World Race, I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me this year. It has been a year of taking risks, finding gifts, cultivating strengths, overcoming fears and stepping into courage, and catchin’ the waves with Jesus.
Time to catch some waves on your side of the globe. Hello USA. It’s good to see you.
