“God has given us a Spirit of Power and of Love…“
2 Timothy 1:7
Summer Time in the South.
Ninety-nine degrees in the shade.
Humidity… Worn like an outer layer of clothing.
Thunder Storms every afternoon and…
The Beach!
Cool breezes skipping up off the ocean, faintly whispering…
“Nahhhh, you’re not getting burned…
You’re hardly even pink”
And sand… Sand everywhere!
Hot Sand… Hot sand to run across like a ballerina on opening night.
Sticky sand… Sticky sand to cake onto sweaty sunscreen.
Sand in shoes and Sand in shorts.
But it’s alright… Cause we talking Beach Sand!
And then there’s the ocean…
You remember, don’t you?
Warm white foam feeling so good swirling up around your ankles…
Oh but then turning a little chilly, as you wade on in knee deep.
And finally… Finally downright icy as it climbs up to your belly button.
Now’s ’bout the time to gather the nerve to take the plunge, right?
The plunge that feels ooooohhh……. sooooo……. good.
Now I gotta tell you guys all that’s fine but for me…
The best of it all… The coup de gras…
It’s gotta be the waves.
The bigger the better.
I’m talking save the women and children hold on to your hat kinda waves. Waves made for one thing and one thing only…
Body Surfing.
I love body surfing.
The rush of catching a wave just right.
All that power!
Rushing white tipped breakers of pure energy.
Energy to get lost in. Or if you ain’t ready, get crushed by.
This must be what Superman feels like when he leaps into the air to fly.
Yep. Here come a wave.
Look y’all, I’m Superman!
And such is the power of the Spirit of God at work!
You Know there’s times in my life when I catch hold of the Power of the Spirit just so… Times when I’m right in step with the energy of the Spirit of God. Times when that rushing white tipped breaker of pure energy sweeps me along.
Along towards… Well… Heaven.
Father in Heaven, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit…
Thank You for those moments of pure Heaven.
Thank You for even a glimpse of the Life to come.
Move us more and more into step with Your Spirit…
So that this Life we long for… This life that is Life…
This abiding in You… It becomes our daily reality.
Amen.
“Since we live by the Spirit, Let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25
I love body surfing too. And I love those days when, at the end, I know I have been taken on a ride. I have a heart that is full knowing I have experienced the abundant life, Christ’s life, living through me as me. I know I didn’t manufacture what happened or the fruit that came from it, so I’m not drained. Instead, I’m energized…and looking for the next “wave.” What a rush!