Destination Turn Up

On the island, it was an amazing experience to surf some of the largest waves in the world. One sunny afternoon on the North Shore a solid north-northwest swell was hitting the island, and my goal was to surf these massive waves. I knew deep down that this could be my last day alive if I paddled out and entered the 20+foot surf. My friends on the island were just calling it 10 to 12 Hawaiian. The North Shore boys are always underscoring the surf size. If it’s 30 feet on the face of the wave some only call it 15 feet. The size is measured by the back of the wave in this case. When a person paddles out into surf like that, I hope they know they are in God’s hands. At any moment, if you go down and take a bad wipeout, you could die.

Note for any of you thinking of surfing big waves: if you are ever in doubt please do not go out in the lineup! If Phantoms (a heavy outer reef break) is breaking on the outside, it is a clear indicator that the surf is very big. The life guards have their hands full on days like these and would say don’t go in or even near the water. Some would call it survival surfing! Hopefully you know where you are going if you do decide to paddle out. There are only two places, heaven or being eternally separated from God.

On this particular day, when I paddled out, not only was the surf potentially life threatening but after paddling out to the line-up I made a rookie mistake and took off on the second wave of the set. Bad idea because there are usually two more of the same size waves behind it. Unfortunately, on the takeoff I dug a rail and knew I was in for a long beat-down. I wiped out so hard. I remember skipping down the face of the wave. I got sucked over the falls then pushed down under the water until my ears started hurting really bad, and I knew this could be my last seconds. I gasped for air as I came up out of the water. I was choking on the sea foam above the ocean. Some call this the foam layer. It was about a foot of foam on the surface and things were not looking good at this point. After climbing the ladder (which means pulling yourself up to the surface by climbing up your surfboard leash) I knew things went from bad to worse. This is when I prayed and told God, “If I live through this, I have to live for the right purpose. God, I will live for you.” I took another set wave on top of the head, and was dragged down even deeper. When your ears start to hurt, you know you’re pretty far down. Unless you are a fish and can breathe under water, this is not where you want to be. For me, personally, I was pretty deep in sin and needed to be rescued. I needed to be rescued spiritually and physically in this disastrous situation. God was the only one who could help me with both. He came through on this day, like He always does, by His grace! I had now committed myself to Him and from then on, my walk would be His walk. Some people may say that surfing brings them the most fulfillment in the world, and after giving my life to God, I realize that living my life for Jesus Christ means more than any size wave I’ve ever ridden.