Caught in a wave...
An enduring memory of my childhood summers is time spent bobbing in the surf past the breakers off Shellharbour Beach on an inflatable surf mat. My Dad, the strongest of swimmers, was just a few metres away instructing me as to which wave to catch, when to start kicking & what to do to make it back to the beach.
Every now and again a set of three monster waves would come along. You could see them emerge on the horizon, slowly the body of the wave would build. Although I did my best to get ahead of the wave, the outcome was never clear until the wave started to break. I would paddle like mad and pray. It could then go three ways: I would have the most exhilarating ride of my life, propelled at speed ahead of a wall of white foam towards the beach; or be submerged in the tumult of a briny washing machine, wondering if I would ever make it to the surface before I ran out of air, eventually emerging like a sand-covered cork, thanking God I was still alive; or even as 10 year old, I knew it was possible to not emerge at all.
This year for me has felt like a slow-motion re-run of my childhood summer on my surf-mat. Whilst in Kuala Lumpur in January, I caught a glimpse of the COVID wave on the horizon. As the wave grew in February and early March, reminiscent of my Dad years ago, I found myself coaching the teams I lead - about the things we needed to do to give us the best shot at emerging on the other side of the wave - and I prayed. My husband was doing the maths on how long we could survive without an income. There was never going to be an exhilarating ride to the beach. Like many others, the ‘washing machine’ was intense as I worked longer and harder than ever before, whilst at the same time, doing school for our son with a disability.
This Christmas, after having paddled like mad and emerging relieved, exhausted and ‘covered in sand’, again I thank God for his mercy, blessings and the basics - life, health, shelter and hugging my family - no matter what tomorrow brings.
2020 has been a reality check, we are not the masters of our destiny.
If nothing else, 2020 has been a reality check, we are not the masters of our destiny, no matter who we are, or what we have. It’s the perfect reminder that we are totally reliant on God for all things, and the world more than ever needs to know the truth of 1 John 4:14 - that God sent his Son Jesus to be the Saviour of the world. What a comfort, and what a message we have to share!
Ainsley Poulos is married to Archie and they have two daughters, one son and one son-in-law. They have ministered in parish in Eastern Sydney and now at Moore College, where Archie is on the faculty. She is the chair of the EQUIP Ministry Wives Conference. This post originally appeared on the EQUIP women website.
