Try It

 

Neither brother wanted to try Life cereal, so they shoved it in front of four-year-old Mikey. He liked it!

 

5:30 a.m. Roads and beaches are empty. Orion blazes above. Perfect for kayaking. Waves are manageable—out we go.

Wind is steady from the north-northwest, so no venturing out far this time. Some days are made for distance, such as paddling south to Strathmere. But today will be seaward and north toward sunrise. Then just sitting 200 yards out and soaking it all in. Sounds—the stereo song of surf smashing into sand along the shore, the soft slap of ripples against the kayak, no jetskis (Vm-vm-vm VVOOOOOMMMMMMMMM vm-vm: the soothing serenades and silences of nature). Sights—the sky ever brightening, birds skimming, gold glowing atop a low rack of eastern clouds, houses fading into Atlantic City up north, sand and dunes dwindling down to Strathmere.

Now the sun peeps above that rack; time to paddle in. What this kayak needs is a rear-view mirror so I can monitor the waves as they close in behind me! These are complicated this mor­ning by a second set, generated by that north­west wind, rolling toward me at right angles to the main ocean swell from the east. Too late! Surfed the first wave okay, but the second arrived already breaking. Leaned back as far as possible, but the nose still pearled and down I went. Grabbed my sunglasses as I went under so as not to lose them.

 

Why am I writing this stuff? Unless you yourself have been out on the water, these are just words. You have to actually try kayaking in order to understand it.

The same is true of trusting God, whether for salva­tion or some other need. We can hear about someone else’s experi­ence, or read Bible stories of others who walked by faith, but unless we trust God ourselves we won’t understand or appreciate what it all means. Try it!— “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).