Wipe Out!
Playa Grande, Costa Rica - It all began so well. A three foot wave, barreling along, my surfboard lifting as I jumped up to stand.
But no sooner did my toes touch the board than the green wave closed out, tossing me head over heels, down, down, down.
As my daughters Barbara and Bonnie said: It's like the wave's punishing you for making a mistake.
Cartwheeling under water while being thrashed, as water tries to enter every orfice, brings fear and yet focus. I had air enough in my lungs for the few seconds that seemed like a minute and was keenly concentrated on keeping that air supply inside and intact.
Back onshore a few hours later, I appreciated how it came naturally, this survival instinct that God gave us. Not only for surfing wipeouts but for tough times in everyday life.
Prayer comes quickly when the car breaks down in traffic, the flood waters rise or the job outlook looks bleak.
As the Italian proverb says, "No altars smoke in times of prosperity."
But there's another thing about wipeouts. They make you stop your agenda when you're off track.
Barbara said that right after a wreck on notorious Westheimer in West Houston and an ill-advised cross over three lanes: "I heard God say, I will stop you."
That's his sovereignty. In action, watching over us.
As my family's leader, I need to do the same, to heed God's words or hear them in the aftermath of my mistakes.
Either way, He's speaking, and I want to focus on His every breath.
"You are my hiding place and shield." Psalm 119:114
