You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
There is something absolutely mesmerizing about standing on the beach and looking out at the vastness of the massive body of water that goes beyond your capacity to see.
When you focus closer you soon begin to experience the rhythm of the waves moving the water in and out. Sometimes it does so as a ride-worthy curl. Other times it just laps at your feet. And most days, like clockwork, it fills and empties the beach.
Yet, thankfully rarely, there are those days when the winds begin to howl, the sands begin to swirl, and the waves… the waves they become like a huge thundering wall with no intention of stopping at either earthly or human-made boundaries.
This rhythm does not belong to the ocean alone. Our lives also have the same ebb and flow. There are times when our lives are filled with great adventure and other times with just a calm steady flow. And then there are those times when the big, thunderous, overwhelming wave comes crashing over us. Whether they be physical waves, emotional, spiritual, relational or any combination there of it feels like we are being uncontrollably tossed to and fro.
The good news is that there is much to be learned from the waves of the ocean. The awareness that there is in fact a rhythm that teaches us that the water will at some point draw back. Oh, it will come again, but most times in a manageable way. And once you begin to embrace the rhythm you become more adept at navigating the waves of life.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you – Isaiah 43:2
BP