I watched him head out to ride upon the waters, but I didn't expect the frisky, colt-like leap that my lens was able to catch. It was delightful and it also set my heart to pondering about the road involved in any worthy journey.

A good stretching and a feel for the body and the soul's readiness is necessary before any challenge. His unexpected flight showed me that it could be more thrilling if the leap was part of the joy of making it to the top of a wave. He made me think about how we are not just built for those sweet moments of reaching the challenge of cresting the heights, but about how glorious the path to the elevated places can also be. Far from an interruption to the goal, the surprising vault was a spirited dance even at flat sea-level.

Then I remembered the beginning of the verse that is on the screen-lock on my phone~~1 Thessalonians 5:16: "Rejoice always..." Were they just words to skim over? Was the surfer illustrating for me what I thought was already on my heart? I was sure of it. If he had to turn around just after the great jump, remembering some task, I knew that his day of going into the Pacific was already one that wouldn't be hindered. He knew how to come and how to go, because like Jesus when He walked abroad here, nothing was really an interruption. Every thing that He encountered was an intense moment of having arrived at the place to leap for joy in showering heaven's love upon the one before Him.

Rejoice always!.... And I learned a new balletic move from a surfer who catapulted my heart to the dancing Jesus--on the road.