The swell starts far from the shore. The waters gather and
begin to move as one.
We stood in the warm water, in the even warmer air of a
Brisbane December, poised with the body boards we borrowed from Felicity and
Gregor. I wasn’t very good at it. Both times I flopped onto my tummy on the
board, I was soon slammed hard into the sand. I should have learned how to do
this when I was young…
I grew up near Surf City, USA. It was a common sight to see
beat-up old VW buses chugging towards the beaches, surfboards tied
higgledy-piggledy on the roof. Or poking out a passenger window. But not a
gifted or even able swimmer, I was never tempted to give it a try.
Today I am thinking about the way the waters gather far out
from the shore, responding to tides and currents that drive them. They begin to
swell and move ‘together’ moving in synch, long before they reach or even ‘see’
the shoreline: yet they respond and go in the right direction.
Finally, there is such a volume of water that they form into
the impressive rollers the surfers anticipate. Those who are experienced seem
to be able to sense the timing, to know when to move from a prone position into
a kneeling position, when to rise onto feet, find balance and take the
exhilarating ride into the shore. Equally, the experienced surfers know when to
drop off the board and swim back out to sea, avoiding that unpleasant slam into
the sand which I experienced.
The Spirit is moving over the waters of our faith, gathering
us so that together our faith in the powerful move of God encourages us off our
tummies and onto our knees, off our knees and freely, joyfully riding the wave
of God.
Lord, help me today to move in time with your rhythm,
waiting and watching, kneeling and standing, riding in joyful abandon of faith
and trust in you. You are the wave-maker, the surf-gatherer, the creator of
land and seas and skies: may I be alert, attentive and ready today, tonight,
constantly.
Praise you, Lord, for the swelling move of your Spirit
across the globe today, among the young, among the old, among the faithful and
among the faithless, among swimmers and non-swimmers alike. May we greet each
new wave with joy and daring, trusting you to protect us from submerged rocks and
hungry sharks. Amen.
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