Loser News

My dad taught me the sheer joy of body surfing.  He would stand out in the surf, waiting for just the right wave, and ride it all the way in, until he bottomed out near the shore.  Then he’d lay there letting the waves push him back and forth (this he called “Butt Surfing”, which to my knowledge never really caught on), as the tide ebbed and flowed.

It struck me today (as I was ponderously running my weekend fast food off) that life is a lot like body surfing.   My sons tend to go after every wave they see, regardless of what size it is or if it’s even going to break right.  My dad would stand chest deep in the ocean for up to ten minutes, patiently awaiting his wave, and when it came, he’d pounce and ride it as far as it would take him.

God sends waves into our lives, but sometimes we don’t want to wait for His waves.  We’ll just take any wave that comes along, and when we catch it, it never quite lives up to our expectations.  Sometimes, waiting for the wave He’s designed just for you seems to take forever, and you watch people all around you taking other waves that are almost what you’re waiting for. 

After a while, you may think that wave is never going to come, but if you’re patient, you’ll turn around and see it building, feel the water around you being drawn toward it, lose sight of the horizon as it grows before you.  You’ll probably experience a moment of doubt, probably fear, because when God sends His wave, it’s seldom what we expect, and often bigger than we imagined.

And then it’s on you.  You have a choice: Dive underneath and get safely on the other side, or start swimming with it and let it take you wherever it’s going.  Sure, you may get pounded, you may get tossed around like a rag doll, you’ll definitely get sand in you shorts, but when you come up, you’ll be exactly where God meant that wave to take you.  And no matter what happens, take some time to reflect on it.  Do a little Butt Surfing.