During
training I endured ten to twelve hour classes and tests daily. Failing a test meant packing up and heading
home, so the stakes were high. I clung
to God through it all, and when I could squeeze in a surf session I sped to the
beach. I didn’t check the surf report to
see if the wind was blowing hard on-shore, or clean and off-shore, or the waves
were big or small. I craved the board
under my skin, the sun on my back, and vowed to surf no matter what. As the saltwater washed over me, God spoke to
my heart about serving him.
Matthew 20:28, “For even the
Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a
ransom for many.”
The
core of Christ’s purpose was to serve, and in the Bible it is stated countless
times in countless ways that as Christ imitators we are called to serve and
love other people for him. Surfers check
the waves and surf reports frequently to contemplate if the conditions merit a
session. If there is too much wind and
the waves aren’t perfect, surfers wonder if it is even worth paddling out. God showed me a similar trend with serving,
where at times if the conditions weren’t just right in my life, I struggled in
helping others.
In Philippians
4:11 Paul wrote that he learned to be content in whatever situation life found
him in. I am challenged by this and
realized that sometimes I get so far into my own situation, which is never going
to be perfect, and become overwhelmed by emotions and feelings attached to the
junk. As a result, I have sometimes been
guilty of feeling too empty and too tired to care about others. The voice of the enemy is eager to steal any
joy he can and whispers, “Is it even worth serving when you are sad? You should be the one that should be served.” 
But
I know I am not called to be controlled by my fluctuating feelings, and I have
never regretted helping someone in need.
No matter what is going on with me, the moment I leave my situations and
feelings behind to serve someone else, I feel better. I have always found joy in putting someone
else’s needs above my own. It can even
be therapeutic, as I cannot count the number of times that volunteering has put
my trials into perspective. David penned
in the book of Psalms that “The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,” just
as when I serve my own troubles melt away.
And
like serving, regardless of the conditions, I have never been sorry I paddled
out, because the scent of foaming, salty sea spray mixed with sunshine and the
breeze is impossible to bottle up and replicate. No matter what the conditions of the waves,
this elusive scent exists, and the only way to experience its refreshing
effects is to be there, in the water, paddling and duck-diving, skimming along
on the surface of the sea. No matter how
much time has passed since I last rode a wave, and no matter how tormented I
find the state of the ocean to be in, its grip on my heart and soul remain, and
there I am always at peace; at home enveloped in the pockets of the water.
I
will surf no matter the conditions, and serve God no matter the conditions.
