My One Word by Mike Ashcraft & Rachel Olsen

Author:Mike Ashcraft & Rachel Olsen [ Ashcraft, Mike; Olsen, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780310318781
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

SEEING THROUGH YOUR WORD

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for

and assurance about what we do not see.

— HEBREWS 11:1

“Your brother just cleared the beach. Hilarious!”

This was the text message from my wife as I sat in a staff meeting while my vacationing family enjoyed a beautiful day at Wrightsville Beach. I couldn’t wait to hear this.

I am the middle son. I have a brother to the north and one to the south. You can imagine the competitive chaos we generated around our house for most of our growing-up years.

My older brother, Mark, is the athlete and the one who can fix anything. My younger brother, Brian, is personable and the guy who can get anybody to do anything — a characteristic that would be a great benefit for his role as the beach-clearer. And I … Well, I am the favorite son (I have a T-shirt to prove it!), but that has nothing to do with the story.

Brian spent the past decade in the snow-covered mountains of Utah, which is light-years from the ocean. And as with most people who live landlocked, a trip to the beach inevitably spurs suspicions about sharks.

As a surfer, I spend a great deal of time in the ocean. Only once have I gotten out of the water because I felt threatened by a shark, even though the sharks are out there all the time. But because of Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week,” the movie Jaws, and our love of drama, people always talk about sharks at the beach.

Scary makes a good story, and people fear sharks. It doesn’t matter that most people have never actually seen a shark outside of an aquarium.

Once a year the entire Ashcraft family comes to North Carolina to spend a week near me at Wrightsville Beach. My parents, grandparents, two brothers and their families — we all enjoy the beach and make memories together. And I usually give a surf lesson or two. It’s become a tradition.

This sunny Tuesday morning the beach was moderately crowded, mostly locals at the place where our families were spending the day. Mostly locals, except for my brother from Utah.

The six Ashcraft cousins are splashing in the surf just offshore. The adults relax in beach chairs a short distance away. The day is gorgeous, and the blue-green water, calm. But it’s all about to be interrupted by my younger sibling, who is on lifeguard duty watching the kids.

As he’s scanning the ocean like a salty seaman, he sees a fin break the surface. He rubs his land-loving eyes to be sure of what he has seen. He needs to be certain before he swings into action.

Sure enough, he sees the fin again. It is time for some lifesaving heroics.

His voice breaks the serenity of the summer scene. Remember, this is the guy who can get anybody to do anything.

“SHHHHAAAARRRRRKKKKK!!!!” His voice echoes across the beach. “Everybody out of the water!”

Brian runs into the surf and helps the little kids to the safety of the sand.

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