Surfing Lessons - #3

Camille and I caught some fun waves today. Well, Camille caught most of the waves. I snapped my leash on my third wave after I dove through the face of a huge left that was about to close out and crush me. I felt a little 'pop' as I went through the back of the wave and knew that I would be swimming for my surfboard! I managed to get my board before the next set came through and paddled back out to the lineup to tell Camille that I would have to catch a wave in and go to the car and get another leash. I caught one in and paddled for the beach.

As I was walking to the car, I noticed that the waves were getting better and was stoked to head back out. I was about ten feet from the car when it donned on me - I forgot to put out the spare key! I haven't mentioned how cold it was today. Now I was standing in a soaking wet wetsuit, the air temp was in the 40's, and I was locked out of the car. To make matters worse, the only person in the entire world whose phone number I have memorized is my wife Camille's. She was out catching waves in the surf in front of me. I knew that if I hadn't gotten us out of this predicament by the time she got out of the water, I was gonna be in trouble!

To make a long story short, it took me over an hour to get to a buddie's house, bum a ride (in my wetsuit) back to my house, grab my spare keys and get back to the beach. By the time we arrived at my SUV, Camille was out of the water and starting to get very cold! (Thank God for the warm shower at the beach bathrooms!) So, Camille had a real surf session - Jeremy completely dorked out!

What lesson could I possibly glean from this (other than the fact that it's a good thing that I don't use drugs - I'd be really stupid)? Well, check it out. I want to make it clear here that what I am about to share, I haven't asked the other person for permission to do so yet. I will keep this completely anonymous and try to respect their privacy. I'm pretty sure they will be OK with this.

Yesterday I received a message from a friend whom I hadn't spoken to in many years. To say that they are going through a tough time right now is the understatement of the year. Like I said, I'm not going to share any details save that it was clear that God was behind the fact that they contacted me in the first place. I have had the opportunity in the past couple of days now to encourage them and bless them and show them God's love in a way that has blessed Camille and I just as much as it has them. Today, as my surf session was crumbling before my eyes, all I could think about was how stoked I was to be able to be used by God to help someone who is hurting. Normally, I would have been pretty ticked. At myself. At my broken leash. At my stupid car keys that were locked safely inside my car. At the waves that looked fun on which I would not be surfing. You get the picture. But today...today I could actually feel the smile on my face starting from deep inside my soul. It was as if I had this nuclear reactor of joy going on inside of me and no amount of 'bummers' could kill my stoke.

It got me thinking about just how much lower on the 'important scale' self-indulgent things like...well like my favorite pass-time...are than loving each other. I missed some waves today. Ten years from now, will I care? Not a chance. Ten years from now, will I still have a friend who knows that they can lean on me when times are hard? Absolutely! Would I miss more good waves to let someone else know that they are loved? Every single time. There is stoke and then there is STOKE. The kind of stoke that comes from being Christ's arms of love for someone else simply cannot be duplicated. No wave in the world can compare to the joy that is found in sharing God's love.

I will always be a surf bum. But I have a feeling that as I grow in Christ, I will start to love surfing more for what it is teaching me about God, astrophysics and the Universe in General than for the simple act of riding waves. There's a reason that Love is the key ingredient in what Jesus calls the two greatest commandments. Love God. Love your neighbor. Everything else hinges on these. I am stoked right now. And not because of surfing, for once. Because of Love.