Kicking Waves
The first time I took Abe to the ocean, as soon as sunset came, we were off to the edge of the sand and immediately plunged into the evening tide.
As wave after wave after wave came, all my 3.5 year old son wanted to do was stand there in the steady roar of the water, and kick and kick and kick. In comes the wave, out goes Abe’s leg. There was both a determined dedication to the chore of bowling over these pins of ocean — one. by one. by one. — and a delirious delight at the adventure of standing in this water in the first place.
In Abe’s mind, our bathtub was the largest body of water he’d ever seen. As a toddler, he’d roll and toss and tumble. And that was all he could have ever hoped for or imagined. Until he went to the pool. DAD! Look at all this water! This was endless. One great, big bathtub! Surely this was heaven. But then came the lake. An eternity of water. So much you could barely see the trees on the shoreline. There couldn’t possibly be anything bigger in the world than this…could there?
Abe, meet the ocean.
After six and a half years of living in central Arkansas, — the place we’re “from”, the place we’ve always called home — we are now headed West. After weeks of goodbyes and loading boxes and packing bags, the time has come to pick up and go. We’re not sure what all awaits us there.
Arkansas has given us the space and room to learn how to navigate the boat on steady waters. We’ve been surrounded by family and friends that have cared for us and comforted us at all times. But now there is a new adventure calling. And even though we’ve never experienced a body of water this big, I’m hoping and praying that we’ll respond just as Abe did.
May we jump straight in. May we stand right there in the opening of the ocean and experience all the glory and goodness that God has for us. May we just kick waves. One by one by one.
Please pray for us to have both a determined dedication and a delirious delight — a parent’s resolve and a child’s faith. In His name. Amen.
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