Catch a Wave

Summer is here and its time to play. One of the great things about living 45 miles from the Gulf Coast is living so close to the Gulf Coast. The beach, the sand, the surf, the sun – there is so much to do. It’s hard to pack all the fun into just 3 months of summer.

One of the greatest things to do at the beach is surf. Wax up the board, paddle out, pick out the perfect wave and then ride high and tall on a wild one. Well, I guess that’s how it’s done. I’ve never actually surfed.

For starters, surfing around these parts is really quite laughable. The waves are small – unless of course a hurricane is stirring up the Gulf. The water is a milky brown so it’s hard to see anything – even your feet in ankle deep water – and really unappealing. So the whole surfing experience never really called to me growing up.

I have seen real surfers in action though and it does look like a blast. A couple of years ago I was in Hawaii, heaven for surfer types. I happened to be on a bluff which looked out over an area where the currents came together and created these massive waves.

There were surfers all over the place. I could see beginner surfers just trying to get their balance and old pros that could take a wave as small as a ripple and make a ride out of it.

What a joy it was to watch. Everyone at the mercy of the ocean and what she had to offer. And as soon as a surfer rode a wave in or crashed out on one too early they all turned their boards back out to sea to try to catch the next big wave.

It is interesting to watch the anatomy of a wave. I have always thought of waves as something that begins out at sea and comes crashing into land. But high atop my bluff with the surfers participating as unwitting dancers in the sea’s waltz I noticed something new. The wave actually begins near shore and heads out before circling back in.

As I watched one surfer paddle out, the water he was paddling through suddenly got very still and shallow. It looked as though nothing was happening and this would be a dry spell for him. Actually, the water was being pulled out to sea instead of pushed to shore. Beneath him was created a trough; he was in a valley of water.

What was happening was the water that had been below him rushed out and became part of the wave forming slowly in front of him. But as he sat on his board he could not see this happening. This water helped create and build the high mountain of a wave that he so desired to climb. The lower his valley was, the higher and bigger his wave was going to be. And the bigger the rush he was about to experience once he stood atop his board and rode his wave back in.

So, as he sat there thinking nothing was happening a lot was happening – his glorious trophy wave was being created by the water that had also created his still valley.

The surfer’s deep valley made his best wave possible.

I can learn a lot from that surfer. He didn't give up when the water got still. He didn't paddle back in when the tide got low and it looked like the waves would not come. He stuck it out. He stayed with his board and with the gifts, talents and skills that brought him to that point. He had the patience to see it through. He may have gotten a little sunburned but in the end his perseverance was rewarded. And he got the ride of his life at the top of his mountain.

The top of the mountain is where I always want to be – whether that mountain is made of water or my wildest dreams. And with that mountain there will always be a valley. I can’t let the valley keep me from my mountain because the valley is part of the mountain.

I have never surfed but I feel a mountainous wave dead ahead. I am going to catch it and ride it high. And with all the joy and freedom that riding it is going to bring.

Are you waxed up and ready for a ride?

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Thought for the Day

"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him what your plans are."
- Lou Holtz

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Map Quest

I don’t like to brag but I am an expert map folder. (folderer? I fold them, I don’t file them.) Anyway, I can put the map back together in correct folded-order on the first try. Even while driving. Please don’t tell the DPS.

This used to be quite a handy skill in the days before GPS navigation systems. Now, it seems paper maps are headed the way of Polaroid film. I love maps. Spread one out on a table and you can see the whole city or state at one time. Can’t do that with the fancy, schmancy GPS navigation system.

Maps also are a great way to look into the past. The world is constantly changing. It has been for, well always, so maps have been updated for the same length of time. Antique maps are a wonderful way to see how our world used to look before we “improved” upon it.

I love looking at old maps of Texas. Did you know that Texas was originally so awesomely big that part of Colorado actually was apart of the State of Texas. Can’t get that kind of history with a GPS navigation system.

But what I like most about maps is that they show the world as it is. They mark the intersections, the valleys, the mountain peaks, the dead ends and the straight-away highways.

Whenever I drive on a long trip I like to get my maps, lay them out and highlight my route. That way I know where I’m going, how long it will take, what cities I should get gas in, where I think I will be by nightfall, and what sights I might pass along my way. (I am a sucker for historical markers and small town museums.) I have never had a boring journey.

Never, in all the many times I have mapped out my routes, have I ever highlighted a straight line. Can’t be done. No road, even when planned by the best city, state, civil planners or corps of engineers goes straight forever. Eventually, it will run into a rock formation, a canyon, a river, a housing complex, a forest, an ocean, a lake, a mole hill. There will be detours.

Maps are great and all when I’m driving but what I really need right now is life-map. They don’t sell life-maps at the gas-station. And there is for sure no GPS navigation system to help me. What in the world am I going to spread across my dining room table? Sure there are actual maps in the bible but really those are of no help here. (Well maybe if I’m going to the Dead Sea on vacation but I’ve no plans for that.) So, how do I get to where I need to go?

So? So, I'll follow the One who has the map.

I went on a trip once to a friend’s river cabin. A whole group of us went. Several carloads of people. We all followed each other. I didn’t know how to get there on my own. I followed the one who knew the way. And I got there safe and sound.

That’s what I’ll do now. I’m going to follow the One who knows the way.

I know that I won’t know what’s up ahead because I’m not the one holding the map. I won’t see that valley coming or that big, fabulous mountain peak either. I’ll just have to be surprised. The path is sure to have lots of twists and turns and probably even a few round-a-bouts I'll get stuck in (ever driven in Europe?). And I imagine there might be a few versions of the map in use, afterall the Map Reader knows my history and I do keep changing. But I know if I keep my eyes straight ahead on Him I will not get lost.

Jesus has the map and He’s been interpreting them a lot longer than I have. He will help me with the dangers and pitfalls I’ll encounter. And He will be with me when there is more joy than my heart can hold. I have every confidence that if I follow Him I will complete my journey and reach my destination safe and sound. And I know it will not be boring.

I just hope He likes to stop off at the historical markers and museums.

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