Are you in over your head?

I love to go to the beach it’s really my favorite place to be for sheer relaxation. There is nothing more beautiful than a sunset shining over the waves making them sparkle like someone sprinkled diamonds or the sky has shaken loose some stars to ride the breakers up to the sand. Next to a beautiful sunset would be lying on the sand still warm from the day and seeing the long reflection of the moon shining over the water with the great expanse of sky showing all the constellations in the stars. I am not a swimmer but I love to walk out about waste deep and dodge waves, or better still get into a big inner tube and float. I love to walk a long distance from my little space on the beach and watch the hotel get small as I go a great distance, having to turn around and walk back not so much.

What I don’t like is walking in the edge of the water where your feet sink into the sand and you pull against the force of the sand and water trying to put one foot in front of the other. It’s a real work out especially if you have walked a great distance.

How is that relevant to what is going on with us right now?

I asked someone how they were doing, the description of how they feel was one that we can probably all identify with right now, it was the feeling that life is like walking in mud, just trying to get from one day to another. It isn’t easy right now, I know.

But…

Let me ask you a question, what do you feel you are here on earth to do? Is there purpose in your life or are you on an inner tube floating over the waves hoping that a big swell doesn’t come along to upend you? Sometimes I feel like I have floated way out past where the waves are raucous to the place where it is calmer and more gentle, however the big bummer there is that suddenly I realize that I am way over my head and knowing that I have a dreadful fear of the water going over my head and that I would absolutely drown if I fell into the water I get scared to continue. I try to stay calm and use my hands to paddle myself closer to my safety zone and basically hold my breath until I make it only to get thrown under the water because my safety zone has those foamy breakers that can drive you into the sands of life.

All of us have things that happen everyday and maybe you just don’t tell anyone, you are afraid of seeming inadequate, or weak, but you are afraid of what will come next. Will you be asked to do something that is a little over your head and you aren’t that great a swimmer? There is one school of thought that says, “Fake it till you make it”, well that might work for something simple but there are things for which it wouldn’t work. What just came to my mind is the impossibility it would be for me to have to solve some great mathematical problem… no faking it there, right?

We are all facing minor isolations and lack of toilet paper together and praying that we won’t catch whatever this virus is that’s floating in our atmosphere but I find comfort in Hebrews 4: 14-16  “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” 

We will all get through this together, I’m sure of it! Peace!