Riding the Big Waves

Tuesday night through Saturday morning of last week I spent on vacation at VA Beach with some friends. Friday was Beach Day, during which I spent the first 2 or 3 hours boogie-boarding. 


Boogie-boarding is the most fun when you're able to catch the really big waves, and ride them in. The hard part, however, is getting to those, particularly when the water is choppy with a strong undercurrent. Even when you manage to get out to the bigger waves, often times those big waves catch you before you're ready, and you wind up washing up on shore holding onto the boogie-board with one hand for dear life while the other hand is pinching your nose shut so you don't swallow the ever-delicious ocean salt-water...ok, so that's what I wound up doing, maybe I'm just the worst boogie-boarder on the planet ;-). 


I realized that life is much the same. Sure, you can take the easy way out and just sunbath all day every day and watch those daring enough get a wonderful adrenaline rush conquering waves. You'll die of skin cancer with nothing but a tan or sunburn to show for it. The waves are the adventures and trials of life. The little ones are great for training and getting a taste of what you're in for, but the purpose of the little waves is really to prepare you to conquer and ride the big ones. Jesus/God/the Holy Spirit is kind of a little bit of everything. He's the boogie-board which keeps you afloat when you ride the waves, or at least gives you hope of surviving, when the waves either catch you off guard or are simply flat-out strong enough to knock you over no matter how ready you are for them. He's the moon which controls the tides, He is inside you, giving you the strength to endure and to keep on going. And He is the beach, where you can eat lunch and rest in preparation for your next joust with the waves.


I read a quote one time that went like this: "The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.  ~Theodore Rubin." Or, as the Good Book says, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In this life you will have tribulation (trials/troubles/struggles); but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NKJV). So ride the big waves, knowing not only that they will never be too strong for you and Jesus to handle, but that they serve a good purpose in your life, making you stronger, and also making your life a lot more worth living.

Some Quotes

Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional.  ~M. Kathleen Casey

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn.  ~Author Unknown

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.  ~William Shakespeare, Othello

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.  I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.  ~Mother Teresa (<-- never heard it put quite so well)

If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.  ~Frank A. Clark

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.  ~Mary Engelbreit

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.  ~African Proverb

Adversity introduces a man to himself.  ~Author Unknown

If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows, you might tell them sorrows know how to swim.  ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.  ~Author Unknown

(All quotes taken from: Quote Garden if you would like to see some more.)