Florida Firing

We have a saying on CSUS staff for when the waves are really bad but I’m trying to motivate others to come surf with me. It’s “Florida Firing” out there. This is based on the unfortunate fact that the waves in Florida are very often small and windy. Depending on where we live, some people get very spoiled with high standards of what a “surfable” day means. If I wake up early and drive to the beach I’m most likely going to paddle out unless it is literally unrideable. I often think, if a Florida person were here, looking at these waves, they would be PSYCHED. I love surfing bad waves because bad waves make you a better surfer. I always think, If I can surf bad waves then I can surf good waves, but that isn’t always true the other way around (Kelly Slater is from Florida so no excuses). In the same way with our faith it is similar. If we can rejoice when things are not great and not retreat to other things besides God for comfort, then when things are good, how much more filled will joy we will be! A couple of crazy things happen when you consistently surf bad waves. One is that you get better at surfing! Another is you learn to enjoy surfing not based on the circumstances but solely for the fact that you are surfing. When you choose joy in the midst of tough times you begin to realize it’s just simply better to be joyful, no matter the circumstance. Don’t wait for the waves to get good to surf, just go when you can. In the same way, don’t wait for the circumstances in your life to line up to follow Jesus and practice your faith. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” Let us not be Christians who never see a harvest.