COWABUNGA

"He'll be fine! He wants to try it!"

My husband tried to assure me as I gripped our 5-year-old's hand and stared up at the tallest waterslide I had ever seen.

"No! It's too much. I don't think he's ready," I argued, but I could see where we were headed.

Every uphill step brought us closer and closer until I stood face-to-face with a mother’s greatest fear.

"Cowabunga," the sign read.

The place without a bottom.

"Cowabunga," the sign shouted.

Where the free-fall never ends.

Much too soon, my little boy was next in line.

"Are you going, too, Mom?" He asked.

"Not on your life," I murmured to myself. 

To release temporary control of him was one thing; to sacrifice sanity quite another.

A giant light flashed a warning as a cold current rushed past our ankles and threatened to pull us into the abyss.

Red light.

I looked around wildly, spotting an exit that descended through the palms. Could I make it to the bottom in time to catch him? 

Yellow light.

As I mapped out a strategy, the inevitable occurred.

Green light.

Whoosh! He was gone.

I grabbed at the air where my son once stood. 

And the scream that echoed down the tube haunted me for years until I finally realized.

It wasn't a cry of terror but the sound of faith.

We must let go, even when we can't see the bottom.

We must trust when our plans rush down the drain.

Because we will never know the magnitude of what God can do until we jump in feet first.

And a funny thing happens when we trust God despite our fear.

Courage floods our souls.

"I'm next!!!" I shouted and elbowed my way back to the front of the line.

Surrendering was the quickest way to get to where I needed to be.

I wasn't fearless, but I was brave.

Brave enough to believe that no matter how hard the landing, I wouldn't shatter. 

Brave enough to know that no matter how deep the water, I wouldn't stay under for long.

When I reached the bottom and hugged my son, I knew God had used that moment to raise us, not let us down.

One day you'll face your own "Cowabunga," a chance to choose faith over fear.

I hope you'll trust Jesus and take the plunge.

After all, you weren’t only born to fly.

You were made to walk on water.

Jesus said, 

"Don't yield to fear. All you need to do is to keep on believing." (Mark 6:36 TPT)