Riding the Wave

I have never surfed in my life.  In fact, when I have visited a beach, I’ve never even gone in far enough to not be able to stand.  I do like watching people surf though, and if I could go back and relive my late teens or early 20s, one of the things I would love to learn to do is kite surf.  These days, that may actually kill me, so I will avoid it.  I love to watch the big wave surfers and the videos from Portugal where some of the biggest waves on Earth roll through. Google it, it’s amazing.  Last week, I saw a video about the longest continuous wave to ride on a surfboard, and it looks insane! 

A quick research dive in Google brought up some key information about the wave, so here is a brief summary: the “Turnagain Arm bore tide” in Alaska occurs twice a day and is caused by high tide colliding with low tide.  It creates a wave 3-10 feet tall that a surfer can ride continuously for up to an hour or so.  It looks like it is gaining popularity, and the New York Times wrote an article about it on August 2 this year. One of the things they asked is how long with the authorities allow people to surf it because of the dangers of the wave and conditions?   (Full transparency: I didn’t go behind the paywall to read the article and find the answer. Maybe if you have a subscription to them, you can fill us in?) The article’s title is, “The Allure and Peril of Riding an Alaskan Wave for Six Miles.” Intrigued by the “Peril” part of the title, but being cheap and not wanting to pay to read, I jumped over to Google and found that the “Perils” include:

1. Frigid Waters. I mean, it’s Alaska, so yeah, the water has to be really cold! If you are exposed for too long to the cold water, your decision-making skills start to suffer, and hypothermia can set in fast.
2. Glacial Silt and Quicksand. Now we are talking! I thought quicksand was not only something of legend from my childhood, but never imagined it would be a peril of the Alaskan shoreline.  The glacial silt turns to sticky mud that is like quicksand and can trap a person. 
3. Strong Currents.  This summer we have seen our fair share of video rescues at major beaches from the strong currents, but in remote Alaska the chances of a lifeguard are majorly reduced and tidal currents are apparently no joke.  

So why, why would anyone want to surf in these conditions? One of the surfers in the video I watched explained that there was nowhere else in the world you can ride that long, and the whole reason he was doing it was because of the pure joy and peace that kind of long ride brings.  You can’t find anything like it anywhere else, and I bet it is a beautiful, although challenging, experience.  

I remember the surfer said something like:

“Where else can you catch a wave like this?”

And that ride made the effort and the risk worth it all.

This is primarily a place to read about connections, interaction, and information about faith, discipleship, and God, so why am I spending so much time writing about surfing the Alaskan bore tide?  The connection I made was simple; Sometimes when following Jesus we are surprised when we encounter “perils” in life.  It is easy to begin to believe that He will somehow minimize all the problems, issues, and complexities on our way, and that is not at all what He promises His followers.  There is an “Allure” to following Jesus, but that can quickly face challenges when we face “Perils” we aren’t expecting, and the “Perils” of life can be surprisingly similar to the perils of surfing in Alaska:

4. Frigid Waters. Let’s face it, the world we live in can be a cold place.  Relationships can turn icy over differences you never imagined, careers can turn cold when the economy struggles, and loneliness is at epidemic levels leaving many people feeling like they are out in the cold.   
5. Glacial Silt and Quicksand. It may not be Glacial Silt that bogs us down in our daily lives, but it seems like there are plenty of things that do; our income may not be keeping up with our expenses, activities that look appealing at first can quickly turn into addictions that trap us and make us struggle to get free of, and the path we thought would lead us to our dreams can be filled with hidden traps we never expected.
6. Strong Currents. There is a strong current called culture that we are surrounded by every day. If we aren’t paying attention to the dangers of changing currents, things that seem normal and natural can rip us out of our path, requiring us to use way more energy fighting to get back on track.  One of the currents pulling people away is business.  We pack our schedules tight, and before we know it, the habits and rhythms we know bring us life are overwhelmed by the pull of our over-scheduled lives.

The allure of following Jesus isn’t that He removes all these perils, but that living with His presence in them changes them into a beautiful ride.  A ride like no other.  You will not find the beauty and peace that comes from riding the wave with Jesus anywhere else.  It is like nothing else on earth.  The disciples of Jesus were confronted with the idea of trying to find life apart from Him.  In the 6^th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus had just taught some hard things to a crowd that was looking for Him to do more miracles for them.  The teaching was striking, and they were offended by what He was claiming.  Many of His followers grumbled and complained that the teaching was too hard and turned back, no longer following Him.  So Jesus said to the twelve disciples with Him, “Do you want to go away as well?”  Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,  and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67–69, ESV) 

Riding the waves with Jesus, even when the things He calls us to are difficult, is like nothing else on earth. He is with us in the “perils”, every effort and risk we face is changed by His presence.  The disciples knew through their personal experience of walking with Him, seeing how His presence and power changed everything inside and around them, that there was no other way to live for them.

“Lord, to whom shall we go?” 

The question was like the surfer asking:

“Where else can you catch a wave like this?”

There is no other wave they could ride that would ever bring the peace, hope, beauty, and love they were searching for.   The “allure” of following Jesus isn’t in avoiding all the risks of life, but comes through living in the presence of the one that rides with us through them. 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – Jesus  (John 16:33, NIV)