I’ve encountered this question playing “Would You Rather,” multiple times; “Would you rather go to the beach or the mountains?” I can’t pick a side for the life of me. My ultimate soul rest is hiking up a mountain in my Chacos, setting up my Eno hammock, and furiously journaling in my Moleskine. Just add some campfires, stargazing, and tent sleeping to that, and you’ve got a perfect day in my mind. And yet, I equally love the beach. I have a high affinity for shells. On my recent vacation, after spending hours looking for shells, I walked away with half a sand dollar and a whole conch shell. I also love the ocean. Give me some waves and you’ll have to bribe me to come out of the water.
On my recent vacation, I’ve found another reason to love the ocean. Paddle-boarding. After learning how to do paddle-board for an hour in a safe harbor, I spent three hours paddle boarding on the open ocean. It immediately became a passion. It has the same effect as worship for me. Out on that open ocean, I felt Jesus closer than my breath. At one point, I paddled away from everyone, plopped down on my paddle board, and starting worshipping. The lyrics of “Captain” and “Oceans” reach a whole new level when you look out in front of you and all you see is open ocean. Combine the two things that make me feel the presence of God the most (worship and paddle-boarding), and you’ve got another perfect day.
I had to take a step of faith to paddle board. I could have backed out. I could have said no. Yet I chose to do something out of my comfort zone. And almost instantly, it became one of my favorite things to do. It gave me many sweet moments, when I felt the Holy Spirit so thick around me, just by being and breathing. All because I chose to leave my comfort zone. In just a few short hours, I will be taking the biggest leap of faith I ever have. I’m headed to college. I’m moving hundreds of miles from home. I feel like just as I’ve become comfortable, just as I’ve found the church family I’ve always dreamed of having, just as I’ve found my calling here in Connecticut, I’m being uprooted again: physically leaving the people I love and look up to so much. Yet the Lord put something on my heart while paddle boarding that day. We can't grow in our comfort zones. If we stayed in our comfort zones forever, never taking steps (or leaps) of faith, we’d never move forward. We’d never have to rely on God for things. To grow, we have to keep moving out of our comfort zones.
In my paddle board worshipping experience, the Lord also revealed to me that home is not a place. It’s a person. Being on that paddle board in the middle of the ocean, amongst stingrays and fish and sharks, I felt at home. Why? Because I felt Jesus there with me as close as ever. He made it feel like home. Anywhere Jesus is, is home. Perhaps it’s because deep in our hearts, we know that earth is only a temporary home. Deep in our souls, we know that we’re made for eternity, where simply being in the presence of Jesus, face to face with Him, is indeed Home.
