Since I last wrote - the last day of October - I've been to Houston (by myself for a quick business trip), to Buenos Aires to visit Greg's former stomping grounds, my sister and her husband were able to come to Rio to visit for a week followed immediately by my parents - in fact, their time overlapped by 2 days and we were able to have a Thanksgiving dinner together! - soon after, Greg and I flew back to Houston for business, then flew to Colorado for a romantic and slow-paced week of lovely snowboarding and eating dinner in bed, then to Kansas for Christmas with the Esau fam, then back to Houston before arriving home in Rio just in time to check out the fireworks on Copacabana beach!
And now I'm posting again! I've wanted to post this for awhile:
Early in November, Greg and I went with some of our friends here to a lovely, out-of-the way beach about 45 minutes down the coast. It was nestled between encircling, high, rocky formations. It's rainforest here, so the thick greenery climbed partially up the mountains. The waves were big that day. I mean, the biggest waves I'd ever seen in person. Surfing was out. Boogie-boarding was attempted, but only momentarily...by the boys. So we ate lunch and decided to play in the waves.
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| Mr. Crab decided to join us - his imposing size kept us girls looking over our shoulders! |
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| Prainha, Rio de Janeiro (Prainha means "little beach") |
Don't laugh, but I prayed right then and there as I saw Greg bobbing up and down, waving for me to come in and play with him. And it worked! Somehow, I found the courage, calculated the wave cycle, and headed in until I was next to Greg, albeit shivering. But playing turned into survival mode; those waves were even larger once you were in them! There was no bobbing lazily, enjoying the swell of the tides. Every moment was spent watching the next wave and carefully timing a response. If you didn't dive under at the precise, exact moment, the strength of the crashing water hurled you to the ocean floor and towards the beach. Now, two fears snap into your mind when this happens. One, you pray there's not another wave right behind it so you can catch your breath before being pummeled again. Two, you pray you still have all pieces of your bathing suit on your person and in the right places!
Well, we got pretty good at the diving thing, though the sight of the sheer size of the waves was pretty unnerving. We hadn't been out long - maybe 10 minutes, and I all of a sudden felt exhausted. Greg asked if I was okay and I told him I should probably go in, that I was tired. (This is a challenge in itself - the "going in.") In the time it took us to have that small interchange, a huge wave had come upon us. We both saw it at the same time and we both knew it was too late to dive. I felt a surge of panic and saw Greg reaching for me right before feeling the impact of the wave all around me. And that's when I felt it. Greg's strong arm. His hand found my hand, and though I couldn't see him, I immediately felt the strength in his arm holding me up, bringing peace to my mind, and reassuring me of my footing. And he didn't let go.
We made it in and laughed and quietly enjoyed the satisfaction of having conquered the waves together. We had played hard and it felt good. As we walked up the beach, I thought of one of my favorite scriptures. Psalm 98 says,
"Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The LORD has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
God is so awesome; with his own loving, strong arm He reaches down into our earth, into our lives that seem to crash all around us at times, and works salvation! And He doesn't let go. He will often work through us to reach others for salvation, but even then, it is He who saves. And when we feel hopeless that a friend, co-worker, or family member, for who we've been praying, still hasn't given their life to the Lord, we can continue this good work of prayer and ministry, knowing that God's strong arm can reach anyone, anywhere, even if the waves have already struck and encircled.
Of course, this beach situation easily lent itself to other spiritual parallels as I reflected on the waves and the reassurance I felt when I realized someone stronger than myself was holding me up. Scripture says that God plants our feet on a rock, that He is our refuge in times of trouble, that He is our storm-calmer, that He is our Prince of Peace, and that He takes hold of us with his powerful, right hand. Wow. I praise God for who He is to me and what He does for me. I love that I can rest in Him and rest in the knowledge that He cares for me, He loves me, and He is ready to extend His strong arm to me. In fact, I don't think He ever lets me go!
And my sweet husband? Well, I've always admired his muscular arms. But it's the deep comfort and security I feel when he uses that strength to uplift me (with a hug or a life-saving grip!) that reminds me of how much I adore Greg and how much he must love me. Isn't it that way with God? The benefits of God only remind me of how much I adore the Giver himself and of how much He loves me.
