Riding The Waves

He builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the Lord is his name.

—Amos 9:6

I learned about waves when I was little, swimming in Lake Michigan in navy blue water under a clear sky, and what I learned was this: if you try to stand and face the wave, it will smash you to bits, but if you trust the water and let it carry you, there’s nothing sweeter. And a couple of decades later, that’s what I’m learning to be true about life, too.

The world is changing all the time. Someone is falling in love right now, and someone is being born. A dream is coming true in some city or small town, and at the same moment, another dream is crumbling. A marriage is ending somewhere, and it’s somebody’s wedding day, maybe right in the same town.

If you dig in and fight the changes, they will smash you to bits. They’ll hold you under, drag you across the rough sand, scare and confuse you. But if you can, in the wildest of seasons, just for a moment, trust in the goodness of God, who made it all and holds it all together, you’ll find yourself drawn along to a whole new place, and there’s truly nothing sweeter. Unclench your fists, unlock your knees and the door to your heart, take a deep breath, and begin to swim. Begin to let the waves do their work in you.