My husband was holding me from behind with his arms around me as we stood in the Gulf of Mexico waste deep near the pier in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. He rested his chin on my head and we stood staring south out over the beautiful clear blue-green water. My husband delighted in the calmness of the sea, with the small rolling waves breaking behind us closer to shore. I spent much of my time looking for the sharks I'd heard about that I thought would love swimming near the pier where fisherman cast bait over the railing.
Since the gulf was so calm, the sea was nearly flat with tiny ripples, but every once and awhile a wave would nudge us both enough to throw us off balance just a bit. We'd giggle every time it happened. Finally my husband profoundly said, "You know this is just like life. You think you have your feet firmly planted and something comes along to try to knock you over."
As we were celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary there in the panhandle of Florida and reminscing over our years together, I thought about his analogy. Many times over those years we thought everything was stable, blessing after blessing, when all of a sudden something would happen to knock us off our feet. Sometimes the challenges were small and other times they were huge, difficult challenges that took much more time to recover from. Many times, it wasn't a recovery that occured, but rather a sharpening of sorts, winnowing perhaps or even a readjustment. No matter how firmly we thought out feet were planted in the sand, that has never stopped the waves. Brad was right. This was like life.
The morning of our anniversary as we looked at pictures from our wedding I asked my husband, "If you could go back in time to your newlywed self, what would you tell him?" He said quickly, "I would tell him to get his spiritual act together." I then asked, "Would you have listened to yourself?" Without hestitating he responded, "No, probably not." When asked the same question about what I would've said to that young bride in white silk organza, I replied, "Armor up, girl. There are challenges ahead."
When I think about the two of us standing in the cool waters of the gulf, I remember what each of us was doing at that moment, and how it reflects our outlook in life of late. My husband delights in the calm moments. You can hear him sigh, breathing in God's goodness. While I'm busy looking for sharks in the water, watching for the next challenge to head out way. It's just what our life experiences and spiritual journeys have brought us to thus far.
And no matter what waves are coming, it looks like between the two of us, with God as our anchor ... we've got a nice balance.
