The shifting sand slows my pace as I veer toward the surfboard stand. The colors beckon, the Dominican sellers flirt and call and cajole.
It always makes me smile.
The waves whisper my name.
The lure is strong, the reality faint.
I love the idea of such adventure,
Such athletic prowess.
Then I remember.
And the picture in my head, of cutting through the waves with dignity and ease evaporates.
Reality crashes in and I know I’m kidding myself.
Hawaii 1985.
The Preacher (who wasn’t one yet) decided he and some buddies would learn to surf. Hour after hour they struggled to stand as the waves buffeted them and tossed them about. Many times so close, standing for a few seconds only to be swept off the next moment. Exhausted, they returned mostly defeated.
But the next day, being an athletic kind of guy, he decided defeat was not in his make-up. Alone, he traipsed back down to the surf stand. Eyeing the massive dingy white board he’d fought with the day before, he had an idea.
Spying a sleek, shorter board, he thought, “Wouldn’t it make sense to try something smaller that looked much easier to handle?”
But it proved to be no simpler. He had even less success in the coming hours. Wearily he returned the board, commenting on it being even harder to get up on.
The vendors looked surprised, “Are you an experienced surfer?” they asked. He admitted that this was only his second day.
They began laughing.
The shiny sleek board he had so carefully chosen was called the “Silver Bullet.” It was the most difficult board they had.
What do we do when the reality of life doesn’t match up with dream we had.
When life is harder than we ever imagined.
When the days are dark and
When hope is illusive.
When we figure out that maybe we were dreaming and that we might not ever be able to:
Be what we thought we would be,
Do what we thought we would do,
Live like we thought we would live.
Have the relationships we thought we would have.
When it comes time to realize God is enough.
Enough to light our path,
Enough to get us through each day,
Enough to fill our soul with peace and make us whole.
And we figure out that in the end,
The unconditional love and hope he freely gives,
Is all we really need,
And all we can really count on in this broken world.
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Psalm 42:11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
-What do you do with your disappointments in life?
-Give them over to God and let him fill the void as only he can.