Catching the wave

My trip to Australia is over - it's good to be home again. But the jetlag! Felt like a zombie since I got home. Still, that's a small price to pay for a wonderful experience and memories that will last a lifetime.

After the 'work' bit was over we stayed for a couple more days and did a little sight seeing. There are some great perks to this appointment, eh? As we know from 'Home and Away', Australians love the beach; actually most live on it. Take a look at the map of Australia and the thing you notice immediately is that all the population is based around the coast.

Sydney has 2 famous beaches - Bondi Beach and Manley Beach. Bondi was closer to our hotel but we decided to visit Manley as this meant taking a half hour ferry ride out of Sydney Harbour. The plus point is that this means a wonderful view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House as you leave the dock side. By the way, a one day 'travel card' in Sydney costs about £7, and includes all the trains, buses and ferry journeys.

The ferry journey was lovely, the nearest I'll get to a cruise! Arriving at Manley there's just a 5 minute walk from the docks to the beach. The main drag is a bit like Blackpool - tourist shops selling tacky souvenirs and boomerangs. The view when you reach the beach is almost breathtaking. Lovely sandy beaches and bright blue sea.

By UK standards, the sea was rough - large waves, probably 6-10 feet high. We sat for a while watching the surfers - not something you get to see too often back home. It was fascinating. The large waves were a long way from the shore. The surfers would paddle out, splashing through the smaller waves as they went. Once in the distance they would sit astride their boards waiting for the right wave to appear. The sea was strange - calm for a while, then on the distance would dawn the start of a large wave. As it drew closer it grew larger. The surfers would wait, eyeing the wave and deciding whether it was big enough to launch out upon. Some waves were allowed to pass, deemed too small to risk. Then, after a while, the right one would arrive - large enough to ride and exciting enough to surf. Paddling quickly, the surfers lined themselves up to catch the wave as it rose and broke - the lucky ones riding it in all the way to the beach.

There are plenty of writers who have drawn spiritual inspiration from such a scene. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but ponder the spiritual parallel. It's no good waiting on the safety of the beach if you want to surf. To catch the best waves you to be out there - no small feat in itself. Once you battle your way through the smaller waves you have to wait patiently for the moment, ready to catch the movement of the tide as it surges towards you.

I did a little search - looking for Scripture which might link to this thought. The only passage I could find was the story in Luke 2 about Jesus' presentation at the Temple. As his parents brought him they were confronted by Simeon, and old man. The Bible tells it like this:

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

To feel the surge of the Spirit, to sense God's blessing, you have to be in the right place - you need to be 'out there'. It's no good dithering about on the edge, God expects us to battle through the shallow water, past the lesser waves and into the deep. Put simply, I think He wants us to get stuck in.

I hope I might demonstrate the commitment and determination needed to be in the right place to know the wave of the Spirit working in my life.