Crash at Water's Edge

 

I was sitting at water’s edge

Enjoying the warm sun on my back and

Cool water at my feet.

Amelia My Niece had just come to sit beside me.

We were chatting about various things and then

Whoooooosh!

A large wave crashed over us,

Knocked over my chair, and

Left me on my back in the sand,

Arms and legs in the air like a flailing bug.

The wave got me again on its way back out to sea.

Salty water went in my ears and up my nose,

While gritty sand covered my body from head to toe.

 

I had been caught completely unaware,

Completely unprepared,

And yet I was okay.

 

I am learning that there is a part of me

Who works over-time preparing me for the worst.

It is hyper-vigilant,

Always scanning the horizon,

Constantly planting thoughts in my mind

Of everything that could go wrong,

Simply so that I won’t be

Caught unaware.

 

I am irrationally afraid of the aftermath and/or grief

Or being caught unaware.

 

And yet the wave caught me unaware.

I wasn’t the slightest bit prepared for

A wave at water’s edge

To be strong enough

To dislodge my chair from the sand and

Knock me over.

 

I may have been slightly embarrassed

And completely dirty,

But even still

I

Was

Okay.

 

Oh God: Grant rest to the weary

And peace to the hyper-vigilant,

For I know that I am not the only one.

Amen.