SURFING

I was just watching this huge wave and a surfer riding above the wave on TV …..and then another bigger wave came by and the surfer was overcome by it…..but hey! When the wave passed over, the surfer still had his feet firmly on the board!!! Wow ---terrific ability to keep his stability and steadfastness when all else seemed to overwhelm him!

And I thought of my friend’s teenage daughter.

This morning, she was found motionless, lifeless. She had been partying and got so intoxicated that she became oblivious to the world around her.
Was it someone’s cruel joke on her life? Was it an escape from her fears and failures, guilt and shame?? Was it to gain attention ---- her cry for help???

The waves of broken relationships, poor academic performance….the need for love and acceptance found in friends who are bound by free sex and booze, cigarettes and drugs….the endless surf of helplessness and hopelessness that should taper off with parental provision, professional counseling and advice and medical help ---- yet, not?

What would give her the strength to survive every wave in life?
What would enable her to stand firmly and not scream silently when situations overwhelm her?
What would cause her to ride above the circumstances and not be found under the circumstances?

CLING ON to the “board” --- something consistent --- parents who are there through thick and thin. They may nag and scold, but they are parents you can trust for life.

CLING ON to the “beach” --- somewhere ahead --- taste of honey when medicine seems bitter, thoughts of hope when time will heal.

CLING ON to the day of [your] birth --- there is a purpose for life, a destiny to fulfill!