Living Water by Jacob Galura

It’s hurricane season in the strange and magical state of Florida and that means one thing, swell forecasts and talks of storms. This is the time of year surfers start to get excited and dust off their favorite blades after a summer of shin high sliding. However with the possibility of swell comes the coupled possibility of a dance with named storms and the wind and flooding that comes with it. The past few years have been filled with more of those close calls and damage filled storms than epic offshore days and long period swell. One of the most battle tested locals when it comes to hurricanes are our palm trees. Whenever it comes to prepping for hurricanes, trimming trees and boarding windows is just ahead of rewaxing boards, but palm trees are the exception. They stand in the face of hurricanes, bend in the wind and lose branches but rarely become uprooted. I want to be like a palm tree when it comes to life’s storms. Able to stand in the face of hurricanes because of where I am planted. When we are planted in Jesus we are able to grow strong and with that strength, withstand what life throws at us. The palm trees at the beach where I surf have seen both the epic days with perfect conditions and the heavy days when the storm brings the water over the dunes and into the neighborhood. A life with Jesus will allow us to do the same and continue to be hopeful no matter the storm.

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God.”

Psalm 92:12-13