Aotearoa 19 - It's times like these you learn to live again

Feb. 6, 2007: Rotorua to Whakatane (beach) to Auckland

To Legolas she sent this word:
Legolas Greenleaf long under tree,
In joy thou hast lived. Beware of the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more.

Today was....an amazing day. An interesting piece of history for all you history buffs: this is the anniversary (or at least the important national holiday) of the signing of a treaty between England and the Maori people. "Waitangi Day," as I learned from watching the news this morning, is a public holiday on Feb. 6th commemorating the signing of the "Treaty of Waitangi". It looked like there were probably some really interesting things going on around the city and the country (think of July 4th - or maybe Memorial Day - in the U.S.).

In the morning (after the news) we drove the rest of the way to Whakatane, a small community on the north-central edge of the North Island (just to the east of the main north-pointing "finger" on which Auckland is located). That was the point of departure for the next big adventure. The Poon's were taking a helicopter ride to "White Island" - actually an active volcano, not too far off the coast. There used to be a factory on the (now) island, but sadly the volcano erupted (several years ago - don't know exact number) and buried the factory along with all of the workers. (you can see the site where the factory used to be in the second photo at the bottom of the island - it's the really flat part)

How awesome to go up in a helicopter!! Those of you who know me know how much I love flying and would love to be able to fly on my own (and if you didn't know that about me, the whole skydiving thing is a good example of this force in action). I would love to just go for a helicopter ride, hot air balloon ride, go hang gliding, go skydiving on my own, be superman, etc. So, needless to say, I would've liked to go on this little adventure with them. Sadly, though, I lacked the funds. Sigh.

BUT......in the end, I was very glad that I stayed behind, and I'll elaborate on that after I talk about the rest of the day....

So, the morning was spent driving to Whakatane, where the Poon's took the helicopter ride/tour to White Island, while I stayed behind. I know, I know I should know better, and my Mom wouldn't like to know this, but I got another sun burn (#3? I think), and this was a pretty bad one. Why don't I like to wear sun screen? Me, a prime candidate for skin cancer with my translucent, reflective, pasty white skin. Yikes....

The evening was spent pretty much driving to Auckland, since we would be leaving the following day ....don't remind me...... The Auckland highway was kind of like the highways around Wellington: much more like American highways than what I'm used to back in China. Except, of course, for the fact that everyone is driving on the opposite side of the road. Whose idea was that? ;) For dinner, the Poons went to a nice (probably expensive) buffet down the road from our last "Top 10". I, however, opted for more conventional (and less available) fare: WENDY'S!!! What can I say, I'm a woman of simple tastes. :) It was pretty good, too - I haven't had Wendy's in how long?

Last fun thing I don't want to forget, before I talk about the really cool part of my day. So, while watching the T.V. I saw one commercial a few times that really just cracked me up. It's advertising deodorant of all things. Basically, it's just this guy who has these fire hose streams of sweat pouring out whenever he raises his arms. Why do I find that so funny? Well, you have to know me *reallllllly* well to know that. ;)

*****

The really amazing part of my day happened while I was waiting for the Poons to come back from their helicopter ride/volcano tour. I stayed behind on a local beach.....it was deserted.

Let that sink in. This beach was deserted. There was no one else around. I don't think I have ever, ever been on a deserted beach before. There was no one there. Eventually there were a few stragglers - probably locals - who came by, but they were few and far between.

So, being on a deserted beach, looking out over the sea, I became awfully reflective. At first I didn't really know what to do with myself. Actually, it was kind of fun at first. I found a bunch of shells (I mean, these shells were all over the place!) that, to me, look like they could only be manufactured and not occur naturally. Of course, they're that much prettier when found in nature. :) But once I got past the fun of finding these pretty shells and started staring at the vast expanse of sea, I became rather pensive. It kind of began with me asking myself the question, "What have I learned from New Zealand?"

At this point, I was standing with just my feet in the water. To my untrained eye, the waves that were meeting the shore were pretty tall, and it was kind of windy. I have no idea how tall the waves really were, but the point was that, to me, they looked tall, and I had this intense urge to go out and ride on those waves....



When I was much younger, attending a Christian school, I remember being told (more than once) the analogy that God is like the sea. The sea is vast and incomprehensible. It is a source of life and sustenance for many things, including us. We can't see the end of it from where we are. We can enjoy the beauty of it, we can play in the water and swim in it, we can ride on it, we can even do things like surf and parasail, etc. on/in it. The sea is fun and enjoyable. At the same time, we have to realize: the sea can kill you. You have to respect the sea. While you are enjoying it, you have to have a certain sense of awe about it.

God is like the sea. He is the source of life and sustenance for all things. We can't see Him clearly from where we are. We can enjoy Him, we can laugh with Him, we can experience Him in many exciting ways, but at the same time we have to respect Him. We have to have that sense of awe in His presence.

While I was thinking all of this I was also thinking about how much I want to experience His love more and more, how much I want to be a part of His plan, and how much I want to know what that plan is and how I fit into it.

As I was thinking all of this, it hit me right out of the blue: I wanted to experience God's love in unimaginable ways, but without really trusting Him and giving Him myself fully, just like I wanted to go out and experience the thrill of riding those ways while I was standing on the seashore....

WOW.

I wanted to stay safe, to not have to really exercise my faith. As a result, I could only experience so much of His love. God's "tame love" - the love of a Father for a child, of a teacher for a student, of a friend for a friend - is definitely exciting, enjoyable, and intimate, but His wild love - the overwhelming, passionate, thrilling love of a Lover pursuing the Beloved - the love of the Creator for His Creation, and especially for the crown of His Creation, the kind of love that drives us into holy adventures - simply leaves you breathless. And that's the kind of love that I want/ed to experience from God.

This is the kind of love that you can't experience while staying within your comfort zone, I think. You have to go out on a limb. You have to step out in complete faith and trust that He will catch you. You can't stay on the shore and expect to ride the waves....

Eventually, after being alone with my thoughts for a while, I did change into my swimsuit and play a little in the breakers. It was tons o' fun! A father and child showed up after a bit and were also swimming close to the shore. It was a great experience, although partly somewhat scary realizing that if I got too far away from shore I wouldn't be able to get back - another theological connection (we, in our present state, can't get too close to His face and live, just like we can't get too close to the big waves and live). :) It was a *really* special time, because I hadn't had an experience like that in a while. I felt like I had been getting kind of complacent about some things in China. I wanted to live in China as a Christian without really going out on a limb in relaying my faith.

"To be a Christian is to live dangerously, honestly, freely - to step in the name of love as if you may land on nothing, yet to keep stepping because the something that sustains you no empire can give you and no empire can take away."--Cornel West

When asked the question: 'do you prefer the mountains or the beach?' my answer, hands down, is "mountains." No question. But after this experience, I definitely have a soft spot for the sea.

And God never ceases to amaze me.....