a shadow of talent

Trestles - 9-8-08 -Boostmobile Pro

It's happening out there in the ocean...really... we sat on the beach, like we do every year, when the world's greatest pro surfers come to "our" break... our son John and I hang out, dream of surfing like the stars and sit in the midst of the very, very best of surfing. I snapped this shot with my cell phone to remember the day.



Kelly Slater snaps all the way back.

John, sitting right next to me on the sand, took this insane photo of 8 time world champion Kelly Slater absolutely destroying lowers. Admittedly, he has a much, much nicer camera than my cell phone offers... he also has way more experience shooting live shots, surfing and otherwise... even still... my photo doesn't deserve to be on the same page.

This move, you don't have to be able to do it, (few can), or understand how difficult what's happening in a split second, (few do), to appreciate it's beauty. John's captured an artist at work in one of his finer moments on a very cool wave on a sunny southern California day... what more could you ask for?

Look closely at the heart of the photo. Waves come and go in a moment. Riding a wave's so unlike hitting a golf ball, running a race or most other sports. The wave, the rider, the moment... it's all so transitory... here for but a flash... gone as quickly as it came... impossible to predict exactly what might happen... so fleeting.

That's why I love the heart of this photo... a shadow of the moment. Even a wave, the rider on the wave, here today and gone today, for a moment, cast a shadow. A shadow on the water... in seconds the water changed, lighting changed, ride ended... nothing that was just seconds ago remained... and yet this photo captures the shadow of a surfer, of a life... a shadow of talent.

The writer of James said:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

So much that is good in this life is brief: a day in the water, a great wave, time spent with your son... but every good and perfect gift is from above... unlike shadows on water... so brief an entity most would never notice... they're eternal: love, hope, joy, all gifts from God... all remain... as we remain in Him.

John's outgrown me as a surfer and as a photographer. Makes me proud. Sitting together on the sand made me miss so many mornings sitting together in the line up... this evening I realize some of that time may have just been a shadow... not to be missed but to reflect on in thanksgiving. God's given us something more lasting that we share- His call on our lives -the opportunity not to sit but to stand together for Him, our Father in Heaven, The One Who gives every good and perfect gift. He is not shifting, He's eternal in love, hope, peace and joy.

I took a random shot of the ocean with my phone- and remembered a good day together. John took time to focus, to catch a shadow of the talent of a great surfer and in the shadow... God spoke to me... a little focus... the right tools... The Gift of God... When we humble ourselves to the gifts of those around us, we have the opportunity to discover the wonder of His unchanging love for us as He speaks in His Still, Small Voice. Are you listening? Looking?

blessings,

Eric