Fr Robert Hendrickson
Dear Friends in Christ,
Prior to last week, I’d never been near a surf board. Neither had the boys. I have watched a surfing movie or two and caught an episode or two of Gidget at some point in my life but that is the extent of my awareness of, and interest in, surfing.
This week I have watched every heat of the Olympics surfing competition. I know with embarrassing detail the ages, histories, specialties, and stances of many of the competitors. I have done quite a bit of research on how the tides work in Tahiti and can explain the reef structure that makes for the unique, literally awesome, waves at Teahupo'o.
I’ve started planning another surfing trip and our oldest and I even had a discussion about the merits of UC San Diego so he could surf often if he wanted to in college!
All of this is to say I’ve become a convert. It reminds me of when I came to the Episcopal Church. I was “all in” as they say. So much so that I ended up making it my life’s work in ordained ministry. You needn’t worry, I’m not going to run off and make surfing my life’s work now. y joints couldn’t take it anyway!
But there are two things I note.
First, we’re never too old to be surprised by the joy of something new. God gives us the capacity for wonder and the instinct of awe, and invites us to plunge more deeply into the world, into the life, he has given us as a gift.
Second, our faith can be that thing we fall in love with again, too. We can dive into new forms of prayer, music, scripture, sacred art, service, and more, and break out of spiritual ruts we have contented ourselves to drive in. We can discover some new aspect of the God in whom we live, and move, and have our being.
In all of this, though, we have to take the initiative to do the new thing. We have to accept the limitless invitation never to stop experiencing what is the most fleeting of gifts: life. The deepest prayer of thanksgiving we can offer to God for the gift of life is to live it well, to live it with purpose, to live it with gratitude, and to throw ourselves into the holy work of experiencing it anew.
We can, in our spiritual lives and in life more broadly, make the space to be surprised again so we continue to exercise the reflex of wonder and the instinct of joy that are so much at the heart of the Christian life.
May this week find you with an opportunity to be surprised again.
Yours in Christ,
—Fr Robert