Written By: Colbi Pickett | East Coast Women’s Representative

Photo by: Ivy Scott

After what felt like the flattest summer of my life, we finally got a little swell. It only lasted about two days, but for those two days I felt like I was on a surf trip. I was surfing twice a day for hours at a time!

The funny thing is, I had barely surfed all summer because there just hadn’t been any waves. I expected to be completely out of surf shape, but I was pleasantly surprised by my stamina. In those two days, I surfed more than I had in the previous two months.

As I thought about it, I realized where that endurance came from: my newfound love for swimming and cycling. I wasn’t doing those things to become a better surfer. I was doing them simply because I enjoyed them. And yet, when the waves finally came, all that time in the pool and on the bike paid off in the water.

The same can be true in our walk with the Lord. Our mindset shouldn’t be, “I need to spend time with God so I’m ready when life gets hard,” or “I need to pray more just in case trouble comes.”

Those are wonderful benefits of spending time with God, but they’re not the reason. The reason is much simpler: we love Him.

And when you love something — or someone — you naturally want to spend time with them.

Then, when the waves of life come, you’ll find that all those quiet moments with the Lord have strengthened you more than you realized.

John 15:5
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.”