surf report: the ocean has no compassion...

no kidding! the winter swell is in full swing. in the words of tom cruise, "...they needed a trial lawyer today..." and i wasn't it folks. since i started surfing, brad has told me stories of getting pummeled by waves and getting thrown under the water and not knowing which way was up or down...fearing the impact of your board to your head while you pray that you'll come to the surface. well....i had no frame of reference for this feeling.....until today.

we were at pleasure point again and i paddled out fine....but once i passed the break, my foot got caught in a web of kelp, right as i noticed a big wave coming right at me. (pause) BIG WAVE today meant 6'-8'. it may not seem like a lot...but try laying down on the floor and look up at an average 5'-6' tall person....different perspective. (resume) what do i do? try to turn and catch it? duck under it? i couldn't do anything. the kelp had my foot...and it wasn't budging. the wave smacked down it's full force right on my head and i was flung under water in a series of flips.

when i finally got back to the surface, i kept my cool. i told myself, "you knew this could happen....they all told you about it." so, i paddled out some more and got set up in the line up. here came another wave. i was in perfect position. i started paddling, i felt the wave pick me up....and just as i started descending down the face....the nose of my board went straight into the ocean.....and then came the flips again. only worse this time because i was sure that my board was going to boomerang back at me. so i just covered my head and waited until the ride was over. and when it was....i was done.

slowly, i paddled back to shore, happy that i had survived...but sad that i had failed. or had i?

sometimes, you think things are doomed. over. beyond repair. but so many times, if we'd step back for a second and get some perspective, we'd see that rescue is near. if i had been able to watch myself from the cliff today, i would have had a way different perspective then how i felt in the water. i would have seen the break in the set coming. i would have noticed a smaller break just yards away.

so, i guess i learned that today. which makes it a pretty sweet morning....not a failure at all.

i also learned today (in a very real way) that god always has my back. he always has my best interests at heart. that's pretty cool...amazing....humbling. i'm thankful.

on a side note...i thought i'd include some photo's of our trip to the beach this morning. enjoy! see you soon.






less of me...