Keeping Watch in Baja

02.25.08

On a recent trip to Baja, the swell of the year was on its way. Only problem, we were leaving at noon the same day the swell was due to arrive. I barely slept the night before with all the anticipation of this perfect swell. I pulled up to the cobblestone right point I had called home for the last 13 days to see a perfect 6 foot set grind down the point. It was still dark out and no one was out yet. The conditions were flawless.

I paddled out while the rising sun was shooting streaks across the sky. I felt like I was floating while paddling because of the stillness of the ocean. I was experiencing perfection without having caught a single wave yet.

To my dismay, the swell was only starting to arrive and was therefore quite inconsistent at this point. I did catch some waves that morning, but they were just a figment of what it was sure to be later that day.

I thought of the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), which I had never fully understood until now. That morning I felt like one of the five virgins who didn't come prepared with enough oil for their lamps. In the parable, the virgins most likely refer to female friends and family of the bridegroom. The bridegroom arrived later than expected. Five of the virgins came prepared with enough oil to last until his coming, the other five only brought enough for when they expected him. I felt like them because I too, had not come prepared for this swell. I was leaving just as it was beginning to fill in. Fortunately, I was not missing the arrival of the Kingdom of God by missing this swell! However, it got me thinking about how I'm preparing for the coming Kingdom. Am I keeping watch? Are you keeping watch?