Why Must Waves Hate Each Other So Much?

Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash

Isn’t it funny how sailors grimace at sea? Hardly do men in open waters have good moods.

Yet those resting upon a checkered beach towel, under a sunshine umbrella, their faces hold bliss. How their stress is so far away. How their pleasure is so close at hand.

A sailor hears the waves fight in bloody wars.

The vacationist hears the waves lull in a quiet dance.

You see, the sailor watches waves wrestle all their lives. Born into bloody war. Each movement pure chaos. Each movement eager to be bigger than their neighbor. The sailor rides on this chaos, is at the mercy of this chaos.

At times, unchecked waves reach the heights of giants, looming over the small fishing ship, drenching the boat in their tease. These sailors scowl at the sea. They see it as a cold god. Something distant and terrifying that demands respect. Seldom do they look at that open blue and smile with cracked lips and thirsting gums.

But those vacationists. Oh, how they see a different thing entirely. They notice the waves come in, finding refuge in the sand. They enter shore not at war, but at peace. Hand in hand, they dance to sand.

Is this the reason the sailor scowls while the vacationist smiles? The sailor never gets to see the good ending, only the challenge. How might our thoughts shift if we believed that this life will end well? That unity is promised. A unity above all else.

John 17.