Handstands in the Ocean

I have never been very athletic and for the most part, that has not bothered me. However when my younger brother was able to do handstands when I could not - I was bothered. I'm not sure that my mother understood the significance of an afternoon lesson at the beach but that lesson changed things for me. Mum taught me how to do a handstand - in the water. Not only did she show me how to stand on my hands, but also how to walk on my hands. I was elated! All the better that my brother had not yet mastered this feat.

Even now, some 42 years after that memorable afternoon at Doctor's Cave Beach with my mother, I do handstands in the water whenever I go swimming. So it was that last week just minutes after wading into the water at Hollywood Beach, I did a handstand in the ocean with my mother watching from shore. As I popped back up into an upright position I had a bit of an epiphany...

Doing handstands in the water is an illustration of being able to do all things through Christ. I cannot do a handstand on land but the buoyancy of water allows me to successfully stand on my hands. Each day I am faced with thoughts, feelings, decisions and situations that I cannot adequately handle on my own but with Christ I can effectively deal with them. Furthermore, as I looked around at the expanse of ocean I was reminded of the magnitude of God, His presence, His power and His love for me. It goes beyond the few feet of space I need to do a handstand, beyond the moment in which I need His wisdom in decision making, beyond the days during which I am confronting ongoing issues of any sort, beyond the months of working through circumstances, beyond the years of striving for whatever I am experiencing. God never ends. He is always present. No matter how far I go, there is more of Him yet to know and experience.

I don't know what my mother or brother or anyone else on shore at Hollywood Beach must have thought but I kept diving down and doing handstand after handstand that afternoon. Revelling in the knowledge that I could and being confident that whatever comes my way, I'll be able to handle it - with God's help.