Waves

There is a movie that I still like to sit and watch whenever I happen upon it on cable. The name of the move is "Point Break" starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. The tale is about a green FBI agent, played by Reeves, being placed on a case where he has to work himself into a "surfing gang" that they believe is robbing banks. To be accepted by this culture Reeves decided to learn to surf. There is a scene in the movie where Reeves, on his extra large surf board, begins to try to teach himself how to glide across the water. He paddles franticly while a realitivly small wave approaches, timidly jumps on top of the board and within seconds crashes back into the water. While trying to come up for air another waves falls on top of him and pushes him back under the water. The waves keep coming until you believe that this could be the end of this young FBI agent's life, until you remember that this is a movie and the director still has 90 mintues to fill. Finally, after not being able to catch his breath Reeves is pulled from his watery prison by another surfer and the movie continues.

Everytime I watch this scene I have to take a few deep breaths to allow my mind to come to an understanding that I am not the one that is in the water. My chest feels heavy and lungs feel as if they are about to explode if I do not allow oxygen to flow through them ASAP. Today I think about this movie, not because I wish I could sit and watch the flick, because I have the same feeling in my chest. I feel like Keanu. I feel like I have waves crashing on top of my head as I am trying to find just a little air. I need somone to reach out and pull me out of the abyss.

As I write these words another "wave" story comes to mind. Jesus, after feeding a lot of people, wanted to spend some time alone. So, He told his disciple, "Take the boat, cross the sea to the other side and I will meet up with you later." (Now, I know what would have been the first question out of my mouth but that is another post.) Late that night the disciples notices a figure coming toward them on the sea and believed they were seeing a ghost. (Now, I know what would have been the first words coming out of my mouth but that is another post.) Wanting to keep them calm, Jesus yells out to them "Hey it's just me, chill out". Peter looks at Christ and said, "If that is you then call me out to join you." Jesus says, "Come on out". Peter did it! (Now, I know what I would have called Peter if I would have been in the boat with him but that is another post.) Peter is out there walking on water...Until! Everything was fine, he was just taking a walk with his Lord, UNTIL he began to notice the waves. That is when things began to go south, literally! Peter began to sink (maybe just like Keanu) and cried out for help. Help came! Jesus reached out and grasped the hand of a man that thought everything was lost. Jesus reaches out and grasped the hand of a man that had the guts to jump out of the boat and follow Him.

This story helps to remind me that I am not in the water alone. I have jumped out of the boat. I have done my best to keep my eyes on Christ, but there are times that the wind is blowing across my face so hard that my eyes have to shut. There are times that the waves are whipping around me in a way that I can no longer see my Lord, I can only focus on the water that seems to be building a wall between me and the only thing that can save me. I scream with all the air that is left in my lungs...."SAVE ME!!!" And just as I lose all hope, a hand reaches out with a strength that I have never felt before. He pulls me close to His side and looks at me with a stare that only a Father can give His child and without a word spoken hope begins to take root. We all have "waves" in our lives. We all have those times that we feel that we are alone in an inflatable raft, in the middle of the ocean, no land in site, no way of knowing which way to go, no paddle, with the air slowly coming out of the only thing keeping us out of shark infested waters. What do we do then? Human nature.....we scream out in hopes that someone would hear, "SAVE ME!!!" And He does.