Surfing Lessons - #5

Camille and I scored some really fun waves on our longboards today. We actually didn't intend to go longboarding...but things don't always go the way you plan. Let me back up a bit. There are a plethora of surfboard designs out there, but at the most basic level you can pretty much put just about any surfboard into one of two categories: shortboard or longboard. Many would argue that the 'fish' is a category all of it's own, but a fish is really just a shortboard that is wider and fatter and can catch waves that are usually only accessable to a longboarder. Within the two categories, there are literally thousands of shapes and designs that give each style of surfboard different characteristics for different wave types, style of surfing, body-build of the surfer, etc. But at the most basic level, you have the shortboard and the longboard.

Shortboards are the more 'high-performance'-oriented boards that allow the surfer to turn very fast and make lots of cutbacks. Usually, you need to either have a little power behind the wave or be in just the right takeoff spot to catch a wave on a shortboard. Longboards, on the other hand, are just that - long. And wide. They excel in catching waves. Even if the wave faces are not very steep or the swell is weak, a surfer can paddle a longboard so fast that just about any rideable wave is catchable on a longboard. They don't turn nearly as well as shortboards, but what they lack in agility, they more than make up for in speed and glide. The style in which a wave is ridden is distinctly different depending on which type of board you are riding.

As with most things, there are 'purists' on both sides of the 'surfboard aisle'. Some will only surf shortboards and sit farther inside on days with small swell and curse the longboarders who can sit far outside and catch all of the waves. Some surfers are 'old school' and only surf on longboards. They often times poke fun at the shortboarders doing all those turns and popping airs and can't understand how anyone can catch a wave on a board that short.

Then there are people like Camille and I. I firmly believe that you should always use the best tool for the job. Yeah, I prefer to be on a shortboard in bigger, more powerful waves. But sometimes when the surf is smaller or there isn't a lot of 'push' to the swell, you just need a longboard to get into the waves. And usually on those type of days, the speed and glide you get from a longboard is more fun than anything you would be able to do on a shortboard anyway. You don't get stoked from surfing if you can't catch waves in the first place! So, our 'quiver' includes a couple of longboards.

Whew! Now, where was I? Oh, yeah...things don't always go as planned. The waves today were sort of 'in between'. Super clean with nice shape, but not that big. It was hard to tell which boards we should ride. In the end, Camille decided to take one of my shortboards that is really great at catching waves, and I decided to ride her longboard. Since Camille weighs about as much as one of my thighs, my shortboard is an easy-paddling wave-catcher for her and her longboard is like a long, fun-shape shortboard for me. We decided that we could switch back and forth out in the water and just go with it and have fun. Well, as we were walking out on the rocks to jump into the water, Camille slipped on a wet, slimy boulder and smashed the tail of my board on the rocks.

When I heard her yell and heard that stomach-churning sound of fiberglass cracking on the rocks, honestly my first thought was that I hope she's OK. My next thought was, "Ugh! That's my favorite surfboard!" I looked up to where she was now sitting on her butt and asked if she was alright. She said yes, but as she looked at the tail of my board, her look told me that we had at least one casualty. Now, being that I put my elbow through the rail of my other favorite surfboard the other day on an epic wipout, the reality started to set in that it is full-on winter surf and I am now down to my big-wave shortboard and my longboard as my only boards that aren't on injured-reserve.

As that thought sunk in, so did frustration. I was glad that Camille didn't hurt herself, but bummed that my board 'took one for the team'. Except for a couple of words that I won't repeat here, I didn't say much. I just walked up to Camille, handed her her longboard and told her that I would have to run the injured soldier back to the car and get my longboard. Now, no marriage is perfect, but truthfully, Camille and I almost never argue. When one of us walks away without saying anything, that's pretty much an argument. If you know Camille, you will agree that, simply put, she is just the most easy-to-get-along-with person in the world. We never argue because we never have anything to argue about! I'm not trying to get brownie points here - she's really that sweet!

Well, I ran to the car, grabbed my longboard and ran back down toward the rocks to get into the water. As I was heading back to the ocean, I noticed that Camille was just then getting into the water. In the time it took me to swap boards, she should have already been out in the lineup catching waves. I realized that much of the time I had been rushing to get my longboard, she had been sitting right where I had left her on the rocks. It donned on me that my shortness with her had made her think that I was mad at her. She was probably moving slowly due in part to the fact that her feelings were hurt.

As that thought sunk in, I began to get a mental picture of my sweet wife, fallen on her butt on the rocks, worrying that she had dinged my surfboard, feeling embarrassed and frustrated. Maybe I was feeling a little guilty for being short with her...whatever the case, that picture in mind of her fallen down really affected me. I wished I had been more gentle with her. I wanted to pick her up and tell her that I don't care about a stupid surfboard as long as she's OK. Once again, I was reminded of how much I love her and want to protect and care for her. I know it sounds trivial, just a slip on the rocks (although you probably haven't seen these rocks - your could break your neck on those things!), but I love her so much that seeing anything bad happen to her makes me hurt.

I jumped in the water and paddled out to where she was sitting in the lineup. I came up beside her and splashed her with some water. Instantly, my suspicions were confirmed. She gave me the stinkeye and growled, "It was an accident - I didn't do it on purpose!" I just smiled back and told her that I knew it and that I was sorry if I let her think that I was mad, because I never was. I told her that the worst part of the whole thing wasn't the dinged surfboard, it was the fact that I had inadvertently hurt her feelings.

What's the point of all of this? Well, it took a few good waves for me to stop being mad at myself for being an idiot, insensitive male. Once I got over myself, I started to think about how much God loves us. If just seeing my wife bite it on the rocks hurt me that much, just imagine how much God hurts for us as we do all of the stupid things that we do to hurt ourselves. As much as I love Camille, God's love is infinitely more than that for you, for me, for all of us. And we are always falling down. We fail, we make bad decisions, we sin, we have a knack for just 'mucking it up'. All of it ends up hurting us. And others. God has to watch us fall down over and over all of the time. And it hurts Him every time. I think He gave me a little glimpse of His love for us today. He let my heart feel just a small bit of what He feels for me or for you when our imperfect lives cause us to hurt.

Isn't it good to know that we have a God who is that in love with us? The Bible says that he knows exactly how many hairs are on our head! He loves us enough to know that! It is so comforting to realise that when I hurt, He hurts with me. He probably hurts more than I do. Who wouldn't want to serve a God like that? If you are hurting, tell Him about it. He already knows anyway because He already feels the pain. And He wants to pick you up, dust you off and heal your wounds. That's the kind of God He is. That's why He is my God.