About a month ago, I went to the beach. I packed up the van with both kids, my dear friend Tiffany, her husband John, and their oldest daughter, Savannah. We had coolers, umbrellas, sunscreen, sand toys, goggles, and every snack imaginable. And there we headed - Galveston or bust. Once we sat through traffic, waited in line for the ferry(which the kids could've cared less about, ha!), got stuck in the sand, got out of the sand...we finally made it to the water.
Now, I am well acquainted with the beach. For as long as I can remember, Chris and I have spent time nearly every summer visiting our older siblings and grandparents in Florida. I came to love the water at an early age and have always felt so at ease and at peace when I'm near the ocean.
So I'm in the water - pretty far out. The waves are breaking and are pretty strong. I stood there, the waves SLAMMING in to my back, almost giddy. I love the rush of the waves, their strength and power to literally sweep me off my feet. As I get pulled under, swished and swirled around, I've learned not to panic. #1 It doesn't do any good. #2 No matter when/where I get pulled under - all I have to do is to look up. There's the light, the sky, my promise of getting out of the tumultuous situation. Confidently, I relax as I look up and am carried to the surface.
When I came to the surface, I watched intently as the kids played on the shore. Mandisa's song "Stronger" suddenly came to mind: "When the waves are taking you under, hold on just a little bit longer. He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger" And it hit me like a ton of bricks. When the "waves" of life hit me - instead of embracing them like I do the waves of the ocean...I often panic, flail, and act like a fish out of water. Instead of remaining calm and looking to Jesus, the light, I panic. Sometimes to be point of being stricken with fear, self-pity, and in-action. And while I try to wave to those around me and act like everything's fine - in reality, I'm taking on water and am near drowning.
As I pondered all of this, the words of Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7 came to mind: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." This is my challenge to you, my friends as well as to myself: That when we're being slammed around by the waves of life, that we remember these two things...1. Don't panic. God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, and 2. Remember to look up - He's still right there, just as He always has been. Pray for me as I seek to live this out in everyday life.
I love it! So inspirational. God always brings us out of the waves, but we so often start drowning and forget that He is always going to come through. No matter what. On a side note, how did they not love the ferry? We used to get a thrill getting out of the car and looking at the water over the side of the boat.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't impressed at all by the ferry. It was "meh"...they just wanted to get in the water. They definitely come by it honestly, I LOVE the beach.
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