Written By: David Nehrig | CSUS National Director
Photo By: Reed Burr
It was a beautiful sunny day with a fun winter swell at my home secret spot, Huntington Beach pier. I was in the water with 100 of my closest friends (haha). I was sitting a little further out than normal that morning, and I was eavesdropping on a very interesting conversation.
A few guys were talking about and sharing secret ways to sneak new surfboards into the quiver without their wives knowing. Being married for 25 years, my ears perked up, and I found myself locked into the conversation. One guy shared the board bag technique. This is where you buy a new board and hide it in a board bag so your wife can’t see the new board. Another guy chimed in and said, “Oh no, you just always order boards with the same color rails, and then she never knows if it’s a new board or not.” The conversation went further. Another guy said he takes an old board and trades it in for a new one, so his wife never knows he got a new one.
As fun as this conversation was, I found myself reflecting on new boards and how much I love them – the smell, the soft touch, and the clean rails. There’s so much joy in having a brand new, white board next to an old, beat-up board. It is such a magical time receiving a new custom board that was made with your name on it. The amount of time and thought that went into shaping that board was specific to me. The shaper considers so many factors when shaping a custom board. Prior to being married, I would let my brand-new board stay in my bed for the first few nights before I moved it to the garage to put a coat of base wax on it. This stopped after I got married.
I was reminded of how God is the ultimate shaper, and He knit us together in our mother’s womb. From the very beginning, He laid out the plans for each and every one of us. I like to think of the shaper of my surfboards, and what he is thinking about the type of waves I will be riding with the board. Similarly, God has gifted you and wired you for specific things. Are you following His plan for your life? The master shaper shaped you for such a time as this. Are you listening to Him?
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
As I enter this season of life, I want to encourage myself and all of us to lock in and listen to the master shaper.
Psalm 139:13-14, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”