Confronting the waves

It was so good to worship this morning with fellow believers. I really like my church. I like the pastor, the preaching, the nursery, and the music. Above all else though, I love to attend to worship the Lord. Being with other people who are likeminded helps me to do so. I was reminded today of the Bible passage that says, “Spur one another on to love and good deeds.” When I attend church, it is not part of a magic formula to make me a better Christian or better person, but it does often encourage me to love more and to live my life better. That verse also reminds me of another story from Puerto Rico – this one shorter.

We went down to the beach, excited for our baby to get to enjoy the sand and the waves. He loves swimming, so we figured he would also love the beach. He enjoyed playing in the sand some, but quickly became covered with it, then wasn’t as happy. He wasn’t quite sure what he thought of the waves. I don’t think he liked the way that they came and went, especially if they surprised him. He held onto hubby or I with a death grip for a long time. Then he looked over and saw another baby about his age – this one a girl. She was laughing and giggling, having a good old time in the waves. Her mommy held her out in front of her and she splashed and kicked while they both bobbed with the changing water levels. Bug-a-Boo watched her for a while. You could almost see the brain cells rubbing together and thinking something like, “She likes this. She seems to really be enjoying herself. Maybe it’s not too bad after all.” As he watched her, his grip on my arm relaxed. The next thing we knew, he was having a good, old time playing in the waves. Then the other baby and her mom went in to shore. My son’s grip slowly returned and the look on his face slowly grew more cautious, so we went in too. I was amazed that a one year old could already be so competitive. Then I thought of the previously mentioned Scripture. This is how we as believers should be – spurring one another on. Encouraging each other to tackle the things in the adventure of following Christ that scare us. Church helps do that for me, and I hope I help do that for others.