"THOU SHALL ALWAYS MAKE 'WAVES'!"

*I wrote this when at the beach a couple of weeks ago. Just found it in my bag written on a hotel pad* (so this is especially for those at the beach right now....just something to think about the next time you are just sitting there watching the waves.)

*Waves*

 I love boogie boarding. When I am at the beach, I love it just about better than anything else in the world.

I love the anticipation of catching just the right wave.

 I love the connection of "hitting" it at just the right time.

 I love the bond it creates with others who are around you catching the very same wave.

 And I especially love the feeling I get when the perfect wave takes me all the way to shore.

 I love it all.

Today, I was the "observer".

Gator, his teammates, and their siblings used up all the boards to catch their own waves, so I stood on a sandbar watching each one of them have so much fun with their boogie boards. I was in heaven.

While out there, I looked to my right and noticed one little boy with a board under his arm, not quite ready to try this whole "catching waves" thing.

He stood there in the water (only up to his ankles) just watching his buddies play and ride the waves.

It seemed like he stood there forever and I wondered if he would ever find the nerve to try it for himself.

He was smiling and laughing at his buddies as they caught these fun waves, but he just didn't have it in him at that moment to join them.

After a while, I began hearing different quips from the "experienced" boogie boarders to the brand-new "rookie" boarders that caught my attention and struck me in a remarkable way.

These are some of the things I heard:

*"You gotta wait on it."

 *"Hold on! Ya gotta be patient...it's comin'. "

 *"Haha...that one fooled both of us...it just kinda died, so let's catch the next one."

 *"No, that one's no good, it has to be bigger, come back and let's take the next big one together."

 *"Here it comes! Take it! Take this one! Now!"

 *Woo Hoo!! That was FUN!"

 *"Awesome!"

 *"I'm tired, but I still wanna keep going!"

Then after a big wave took my Gator under and the board got away from him and water got in his nose, throat and lungs, he began coughing and smiling as he's pulling up his swim trunks and he said to me,

"Whew! That one got the best of me, Mom, but just wait... I'll get the best of the next one!"

THAT'S when it hit me like a ton of bricks! Catching waves is kinda like trying to "catch" our dreams! Taking risks...and seeing where they take us.

(Stay with me here.)ha!

Think about it.....sometimes we are the ones standing in the water with our boogie board under our arms and we want desperately to jump in and join the fun! We really do!.....we want the experience...we want to feel the thrill....but we feel nervous, scared...chicken.

We let perfectly good waves go by because we feel safe and secure standing in ankle-deep water while watching all of our buddies go for it instead.

...And when our buddies go for it and hit the big wave at just the right time, we smile and are genuinely happy for them, all the while secretly wishing we had taken the same risk, without worry that it would take us under, take our board and maybe even our swim trunks. ha!

But the greatest equation of waves and dreams is in the dialogue above.

How wonderful it would be to find a person willing to teach us....willing to use their own experience to help us catch just the right *wave*...the one who helps equip us with their knowledge....the one who says, "Hold on, let's take the next one together."

How wonderful would that be.....

 ...and when all is said and done and the thrill of the ride is up, how truly wonderful would it be to have that person get up out of the water, high five the thrill of the ride, then say, "C'mon, let's get back out there and do it again!"

How wonderful would that be to find a person like that in your life?...One willing to teach you the proper skills....remind you to be patient....use their own experience to hone yours.....

Pretty wonderful, huh....

There is only one thing I can think of that would be better than that...

How wonderful would it be to BE that person for someone else... ;-)

Dreams......are like really good waves.....you gotta be willing to take a chance on the big ones, or you'll never know the thrill of the ride!

Great day everybody!!...and Dream on!!

Teri