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Over the past couple days I’ve had the opportunity to experience the glory that is Polihale. I love the hot sun, fun waves (and the occasional “perfect wave”), crystal clear water, epic sunsets, mouthwatering smells coming off grills, an ongoing canopy of star staring right back at you, bonfires, laugher, friends, and all the rest. I love it! That was my life over the past few days, so refreshing and so good.
The morning after the first night, we woke up at about 5:45 am, jumped in the water, and had some fun. When we got out, the young boys went to the lifeless fire pit (we had a bonfire the night before) and were just staring at it. I told them to get it going again, to which they replied, “We need the lighter, it’s dead already.”
Of course it wasn’t completely dead, I knew below its lifeless surface, lay some potentially hot, somewhat dormant coals, in need of some coaxing. But these boys just stared at it, poking it with a stick.
So I told them, “watch this,” got some dry shrubs, turned a log over, and gently started blowing. Unsurprisingly, it began to smoke, and very soon after, a flame sparked. Before we knew it, we had a fire again! The crazy thing is that the boys were so blown away! It was as if I performed a miracle or something. But it wasn’t a miracle; I knew that even though I couldn’t see it, fire was brewing just below the surface of what I could see.
It got me thinking, that’s just like life… just like people. Sometimes it seems like God isn’t doing much in someone’s life or that His influence is just… dead. Like the boys did with the fire, it’s easy just to give up on them. Yet we have to remember that God is knocking at the doors of people’s hearts, moving in places and ways we cannot see.
Remember the people that put some effort into you. Maybe they asked deeper questions, affirmed something they loved about you, or even confronted you about something your life. In any case, their efforts helped get your fire going again. Think about people in your life that maybe you have looked past or written off. I know that God’s heart beats for them as it beats for you. Maybe He might have you be a catalyst that gets them going again.
God is working in our families, in our friends, in our communities. He is not only somewhere else. It might seem hopeless, but underneath the spiritual lifelessness, God is coaxing, God is calling. God calling us to life! Don’t give up. Don’t just walk away. Be faithful, humble, loving, and bold because God is doing more than you can imagine.
After the second night of camp, I woke up and looked over at the fire. The boys were on their knees, blowing it gently. After a bit of careful effort and love, smoked soon appeared, and a blazing fire quickly followed.
Aloha,
Ernie
