SURF'S UP!

Wet, wild and windy - and it looks as if it's going to be like that all day - but still the surfers are out there, trying to find that "perfect" wave and most of the time, not quite making it.  

And then.......they manage it and for a few brief seconds, which I'm sure makes them feel invigorated and exhilarated, they ride the wave - so do they then give up?  Of course not, they wait for the next "perfect" wave, full of enthusiasm and do it all over again, and again!

I feel sometimes I am like a surfer - not that I don a wet suit and rush into the sea with enthusiasm, clutching my surfboard, lest you should conjure up that picture of me - but I am always trying to find that "perfect" shot or make that "perfect" cake - or be that "perfect" wife and mother or even that "perfect" Christian - and yes, beating myself up when I don't quite manage it.  Maybe I should take a lesson from the surfers who are out there this morning.  

“At first, when a child meets something 
that scares him, 
the fear grows, like a wave. 
But when he goes into the water and swims - 
gets used to the water - 
the wave grows small. 
If we pull the child away 
when the wave is high, 
he never sees that, 
never learns how to swim and remains afraid. 
If he gets a chance to feel strong, 
in control, 
that's called coping. 
When he copes, 
he feels better.” 

Jonathan Kellerman : Time Bomb