WHEE or WHOA?

Our family spent quality time in the ocean this summer with every day filled with playing, laughing, swimming, paddling and generally just hanging out in the ocean waves. 

There were many firsts that week:

• The first time my kids found live sand dollars by the thousands
• The first time my husband rode a paddle board
• The first time my kids saw a manatee swimming in the ocean next to them
• The first time one of them had ridden a jet ski
• The first time they kayaked in the intercoastal waterway
• The first time my car held two paddle boards and a kayak as I drove over the intercoastal waterway with the hatchback open - making the drawbridge operators smile every time I went by!

It was a great week.  But the most common word heard that week was this:  WHHHHHEEEEEEEE! The word was expressed out of pure joy.  The fun feeling of riding the waves as you bob up and down in the water and it made the rest of us smile as there was nothing but exhilaration found in the sound.

It was heard every time one of us floated on or over a wave.  We laughed about it too.  There were four of us in the ocean, and every few seconds you would hear one of us loudly exclaim - WHHHHHHEEEEEEE!

And it got me thinking as I watched this storm roll in...

Where does the threshold exist that the WHEE becomes WHOA and I get scared and forget to enjoy the ride?  

When does the wave transition from joy-filled to fear-filled?

When do I stop looking at the horizon and seeing the beauty and instead turn all my attention to the waves themselves and question my sanity for wanting to "play" in them.  

Storms change your perspective of the simple wave.  The wind, the clouds, the sights and sounds of the storm cause you to rethink the fact that these waves are still just waves.  

When Jesus was asleep in the boat - FILLED WITH PEACE - and the disciples - LIKE US - were freaking out over the storm...Jesus simply rebuked the wind, but only spoke to the waves.  

The waves in our lives are not the problem.  They are a symptom of the wind.  So when you are riding the waves of life and you find yourself saying WHOA - not WHEE - ask God if the wind is blowing because He is breathing something new over you or if you need to rebuke the wind and watch the waves settle back down. 

I bet He will tell you which and then you can rest in the peace that He is sovereign.