Hands Across The Ocean March 13th, 2007
I just returned from the most amazing spring break I've ever had, and one of the most prolific experiences of my entire life, so what can I say? Well, a lot. So much that I'll need the help of my other 5 companions to compile it all, so as not to forget any details. Every one of our 7 days in Florida was jam-packed full of adventure, laughter, music and the undeniable nearness of our Almighty God. I don't believe that I could begin to scratch the surface of the overall feeling of the trip without typing up an entire memoir from its start to finish. I will note one significant event though, and solely because I was the only one who had the experience. I would want the collective input of my friends to get the details right for all the other highlights.
I went to Florida with a group of awesome guys to find some good surf. David is a surfer, and he was determined that the rest of us learn the basics. We all prayed together as we were going down south that God would bless our trip and our time together. The results were astounding. Here is my story from Saturday, the last day of the trip. God had already shown Himself faithful throughout every hour of every day up to this point, but He must have been adamant in making me realize just how near He is. I have never had an experience such as this.
David had been waiting all week for Saturday. According to the surf reports the waves would be ideal for surfing that morning at a prime surfing spot in Sebastian. The entire week, we had gone out to find waves, but the surf was relatively tame. This day was the one. We all arrived at the beach around 10:00am to find a slew of top notch surfers out in the ocean fighting over the steady flow of very decent sized waves. I decided fairly early on that I was not going to venture out there with a surf board and try to compete for space with the already saturated area. I sat on the shore and watched everyone do their thing for a good hour, trying to detect the wave patterns. The place where the waves broke didn't seem too far away. All the surfers were bobbing on their boards just past the break, waiting to ride the perfect wave into shore. As time passed I grew restless sitting there, and had a strong inclination to go into the ocean and swim. It is something that I have always done since childhood, and I had done it a few times in the previous days. I didn't want to be disturbed by the surfers though, so I walked about a half-mile down the beach away from everyone. By the time I decided to stop walking and get in the water, everyone else in the ocean and on the shore were specs in the distance.
I felt the current immediately pulling at my feet, nearly knocking me off balance at shin deep level. Once I couldn't feel the ocean floor anymore I started getting pushed back to shore with every breaking wave. I thought the only way I'll be able to get to a place of calm would be to swim past the break (the same distance out as those surfers who were bobbing on their boards). This proved to be quite difficult, but after much struggle I managed to get past the waves. Within a minute of calmly floating out there I decided I was feeling pretty tired and should start heading back to shore. As I tried to ride the waves back in, I noticed that I was getting pulled back with the undertow after the crash, and not making any progress. Once this realization set in I felt a rush of panic. I am not a bad swimmer, but I would not call myself a strong swimmer either. I am also severely out of shape, and my endurance is obviously not what it was when I was 17. All of a sudden I realized the weight of the situation. Here I was totally out of sight, out past the break, almost out of stamina, and completely out of my element, having totally underestimated the ocean. I started freaking out and flailing a bit, going under a wave and swallowing a substantial amount of salt water. For a good 2 or 3 minutes I really believed I had possibly made a deadly error and was going to drown in the ocean. Finally, through the unmistakable grace of God, I composed myself and mustered up what little strength I had left. I felt for the rhythm of the waves and floated with them until they broke, where I would then swim against the undertow as hard as I could. I would repeat that method of conserving energy during the formation of the wave, and then extreme physical exertion at the break, until I miraculously reached the shore, completely exhausted. When I finally left the water and set foot on the sand, I immediately got one of the worst side cramps of my life. It was so bad that I could barely walk back to where the others were. All I could think about was what if I had got that cramp even 1 minute earlier. But God was there, as He always is, and I knew it. By all logical reason, I should have died out there. Everything was against me, including my own naivety/stupidity. But God gave me the strength to keep my wits and actually come up with a plan on the spot, not really knowing what I was doing, or if it would work, and keeping my body functioning well past its normal capacity in such conditions.
That evening around 5:00pm we were walking back from the beach to the parking lot. There was the most marvelous sunset, where the sun was shining through select breaks in the clouds, piercing them with pillars of light. Whenever I see a sunset like that I imagine that what I am seeing is not the sun but the actual light of God shining down on His creation. This time was especially significant. It was a sign to me that God was watching over me, as He controls the ocean, and is accountable for every breath I take. What a reminder.
I got back to school Sunday night. Yesterday classes resumed and we had our first Chapel since being back. Mrs. Dr. Neilson spoke about death! The whole chapel was about how we don't take death seriously and always treat it like its so far away, and that we take God's sustenance for granted, failing to give Him credit for the life that He has put in us. I called my mom after the chapel to tell her that I'd gotten back safely from Florida. I related the story of my "incident" on Saturday. On Friday I had called her to tell her that we were all going to be going out to Sebastian to where the crazy waves were. After I told her what happened on Saturday, she said, "Grant, I didn't want to tell you this Friday, because I knew you were going to do what you were going to do, but I was so scared that something like that would happen to you. So, I called Grandma back in NY and we both prayed for you all day that God would watch over you." My friend Luke who was with me on the trip also told me that on that day when he looked up from his book on the beach and didn't see me anywhere for about 10 minutes, just stopped and prayed that God would protect me out there. It was amazing that I was the one person who was blind to the fact that these waves were extremely dangerous. I believe that God put this ignorance in me to show me His goodness, and also to show me the power of prayer. There are so many times when I subconsciously doubt that God will listen, but He continually and thankfully proves me wrong. This life is a gift. This is true. Thank you to all of you who pray for me.
I went to Florida with a group of awesome guys to find some good surf. David is a surfer, and he was determined that the rest of us learn the basics. We all prayed together as we were going down south that God would bless our trip and our time together. The results were astounding. Here is my story from Saturday, the last day of the trip. God had already shown Himself faithful throughout every hour of every day up to this point, but He must have been adamant in making me realize just how near He is. I have never had an experience such as this.
David had been waiting all week for Saturday. According to the surf reports the waves would be ideal for surfing that morning at a prime surfing spot in Sebastian. The entire week, we had gone out to find waves, but the surf was relatively tame. This day was the one. We all arrived at the beach around 10:00am to find a slew of top notch surfers out in the ocean fighting over the steady flow of very decent sized waves. I decided fairly early on that I was not going to venture out there with a surf board and try to compete for space with the already saturated area. I sat on the shore and watched everyone do their thing for a good hour, trying to detect the wave patterns. The place where the waves broke didn't seem too far away. All the surfers were bobbing on their boards just past the break, waiting to ride the perfect wave into shore. As time passed I grew restless sitting there, and had a strong inclination to go into the ocean and swim. It is something that I have always done since childhood, and I had done it a few times in the previous days. I didn't want to be disturbed by the surfers though, so I walked about a half-mile down the beach away from everyone. By the time I decided to stop walking and get in the water, everyone else in the ocean and on the shore were specs in the distance.
I felt the current immediately pulling at my feet, nearly knocking me off balance at shin deep level. Once I couldn't feel the ocean floor anymore I started getting pushed back to shore with every breaking wave. I thought the only way I'll be able to get to a place of calm would be to swim past the break (the same distance out as those surfers who were bobbing on their boards). This proved to be quite difficult, but after much struggle I managed to get past the waves. Within a minute of calmly floating out there I decided I was feeling pretty tired and should start heading back to shore. As I tried to ride the waves back in, I noticed that I was getting pulled back with the undertow after the crash, and not making any progress. Once this realization set in I felt a rush of panic. I am not a bad swimmer, but I would not call myself a strong swimmer either. I am also severely out of shape, and my endurance is obviously not what it was when I was 17. All of a sudden I realized the weight of the situation. Here I was totally out of sight, out past the break, almost out of stamina, and completely out of my element, having totally underestimated the ocean. I started freaking out and flailing a bit, going under a wave and swallowing a substantial amount of salt water. For a good 2 or 3 minutes I really believed I had possibly made a deadly error and was going to drown in the ocean. Finally, through the unmistakable grace of God, I composed myself and mustered up what little strength I had left. I felt for the rhythm of the waves and floated with them until they broke, where I would then swim against the undertow as hard as I could. I would repeat that method of conserving energy during the formation of the wave, and then extreme physical exertion at the break, until I miraculously reached the shore, completely exhausted. When I finally left the water and set foot on the sand, I immediately got one of the worst side cramps of my life. It was so bad that I could barely walk back to where the others were. All I could think about was what if I had got that cramp even 1 minute earlier. But God was there, as He always is, and I knew it. By all logical reason, I should have died out there. Everything was against me, including my own naivety/stupidity. But God gave me the strength to keep my wits and actually come up with a plan on the spot, not really knowing what I was doing, or if it would work, and keeping my body functioning well past its normal capacity in such conditions.
That evening around 5:00pm we were walking back from the beach to the parking lot. There was the most marvelous sunset, where the sun was shining through select breaks in the clouds, piercing them with pillars of light. Whenever I see a sunset like that I imagine that what I am seeing is not the sun but the actual light of God shining down on His creation. This time was especially significant. It was a sign to me that God was watching over me, as He controls the ocean, and is accountable for every breath I take. What a reminder.
I got back to school Sunday night. Yesterday classes resumed and we had our first Chapel since being back. Mrs. Dr. Neilson spoke about death! The whole chapel was about how we don't take death seriously and always treat it like its so far away, and that we take God's sustenance for granted, failing to give Him credit for the life that He has put in us. I called my mom after the chapel to tell her that I'd gotten back safely from Florida. I related the story of my "incident" on Saturday. On Friday I had called her to tell her that we were all going to be going out to Sebastian to where the crazy waves were. After I told her what happened on Saturday, she said, "Grant, I didn't want to tell you this Friday, because I knew you were going to do what you were going to do, but I was so scared that something like that would happen to you. So, I called Grandma back in NY and we both prayed for you all day that God would watch over you." My friend Luke who was with me on the trip also told me that on that day when he looked up from his book on the beach and didn't see me anywhere for about 10 minutes, just stopped and prayed that God would protect me out there. It was amazing that I was the one person who was blind to the fact that these waves were extremely dangerous. I believe that God put this ignorance in me to show me His goodness, and also to show me the power of prayer. There are so many times when I subconsciously doubt that God will listen, but He continually and thankfully proves me wrong. This life is a gift. This is true. Thank you to all of you who pray for me.
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