The traveler had been on the island a few days but this was his first early morning walk since he had been there. He walked until he came to the beach. He faced the ocean and prayed, “Father, this day I give to you my life, I consecrate it to you. In Jesus’ name I pray Amen.” The wind blew softly; the warm weather gave him comfort. The ocean protected by the harbor was as still as a lake. With the exception of an occasional jogger he was alone in his mind as he sat on the sand. It was 4:30am. This was the beginning of what he deemed a ‘new morning ritual’ to sit quietly with God in the mornings. He remembered Jesus sitting near the water and he skipped to John 5: 2-3 “Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. ⁵One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.” He thought about the lame man sitting in from of the pool of water. He thought about the difference between resting a while to renew your energy for ministry and becoming stagnant and slothful. He too had sat at the foot of the gate preoccupied with the troubles of the world and missing out on the living waters of Christ that were so readily available to him. A big wave came in, as if an angel was stirring up the water. He remembered Jesus sitting near the water and he skipped to Matthew 13:2 on his IPod.  “²Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.” He went on to listen to the entire thirteenth chapter of Matthew. He thought about Jesus sitting in the boat speaking to the crowd.

The traveler sat at the foot of the waves, his legs crossed, his hands on his knees. He thought about the rhythm of the ocean, the movement of the joggers and the rhythm of life.  Seeds are planted, crops grow or fail, wheat and weds grow together, seeds are planted treasures are lost and found. People live and they die – some find purpose and meaning and eternal life, some never hear about Jesus, others reject him.

“It is easy to forget God’s rhythm when we get caught up in our own rhythms” the traveler thought. It is often easy to put trivial matters ahead of God’s urgent call to come to him. It is often easy to put God aside to let hard soil form in our souls – when we do not rest in him. Another wave came in and the traveler put his belongings aside in a neat pile, including his shoes and shirt and entered the water.

He loved to swim, but today he decided to float on his back; not to plan, not to process any emotions in his mind, but to pray.

He prayed for God’s forgiveness, he prayed that he would be forgiven for all of the good intentions that he had; promises to grow closer to God over the years that had started hot and had grown lukewarm.  He knew that commitment to Jesus was a lifelong journey. He knew that Jesus wanted all of his life not just a part of it. It meant that he was called to be more involved with the things of God. It meant that his body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. It meant that his whole heart must rest in Jesus – more than in a onetime event – but in a lifelong transforming process.

The waves were beginning to come in more frequently and they began to warm, but a slightly larger wave came and made him open his eyes. He had drifted a good distance from the shore so he headed back. As he swam back to the shore he could hear the seagulls on their morning hunt for food. Using a small towel he dried put on his shirt and shoes and walked back to his lodgings. He promised to spend the day being an encourager, it was the least he could do to begin to serve god more fully.