Living with an open heart, leads us to limitless possibilities.
My son is not a fan of the ocean. He’s a self-proclaimed mountain man. Much to his dismay, my family usually takes a trip to he beach every summer. He grumbles. He spends as little time as possible on the beach and is always looking for some activity that doesn’t involve swimming in the ocean.
I suspect his feelings stem from a trip to the Atlantic Ocean in Florida, when he was younger. The waves were fairly high and he was playing on a wave rider. At some point, he was knocked off of his board and his face was scraped up on the bottom. It wasn’t a serious injury by any means, but enough to make him leery of the ocean.
Our next few beach trips were also on the Atlantic side of Florida, and he liked the ocean less and less. The Atlantic is often not very clear and there was a time or two, when people around us said they saw sting rays. We even saw a few jelly fish on the sand, both sea creatures, that can sting.
Last summer, we went to the Gulf of Mexico. The water there was very calm and clear. When we were driving down, he announced that he would not be getting into the ocean. I assured him that this ocean was different than the Atlantic was. I don’t think he believed me.
All he knew was what he had experienced personally, and he was not impressed.
When we finally walked to the beach the first time, he saw the difference. It wasn’t long before he got into the crystal clear, calm, water, where we could actually see our feet. His opinion of the ocean changed.
I was reminded of how, like my son, we often judge everything, by our limited experiences. If we have a bad break up or two, we decide that all of the opposite sex are bad. If we were involved in an unhappy marriage, we believe all marriages lead to misery. If we have been hurt in a friendship, we can avoid forming close relationships, because we feel we can never trust anyone.
And then there’s church, if we have been involved in a church where God is not in the driver’s seat and people are looking out for their own interests and not Kingdom interests, we can become disillusioned and decide that all churches are bad too.
Of course, all of those scenarios are false.
All aspects of our lives are a bit like the ocean. From relationships, to jobs, to church. All of them have the possibility of having high waves or dangerous sea life. Sharks are everywhere.
But, there are many of those scenarios that are beautiful, calm and clear as well. Strong friendships are an amazing blessing and the comfort and security of a good marriage, is priceless. A solid, loving church, can be an unshakable foundation for road weary travelers on this side of Eternity.
My son’s ocean conversion reminded me to be careful not to judge the world around us through the lens of our limited experiences. When we judge all, based on just a few, we may miss out on something incredible. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂