Be Careful What You Wish For

When I was 27 years old I was on staff at a church in Northern California. To be honest, it wasn’t a very good experience. Part of that was my fault and part of it was bad leadership from the pastor of that particular church. The church was going through a lot of problems which, in retrospect, I was not equipped to handle. I spent a lot of time in my office wishing that I could just hang out at the beach and surf all day. I didn’t pray that way, but I think God was eavesdropping on my thoughts. Eventually, the church ran into financial problems and let me go. Honestly, I was relieved.

My wife Karen and I moved to Santa Cruz to look for work. I immediately applied for unemployment. Karen found a job almost immediately. We lived down the street from one of my favorite surf breaks. In a very short period of time, I was living the dream. I was collecting an unemployment check and surfing every day, usually twice a day. My routine went like this: get up and see my wife off to work, have a cup of coffee, and ride my bike to check out the waves. That particular year the waves were good almost every day. Next, I’d grab my surfboard and head out for my first surf session of the day. After surfing for a couple of hours, I would come home, grab lunch, and take a nap. After the nap, I would head out for another surf session. I would usually get home in time to greet my young bride and ask about her day.

This went on week after week and month after month. I did manage to get some work interviews in, but my heart wasn’t in it. After several months of this routine, my happiness factor was beginning to fade. In fact, I started to get kind of miserable. I noticed some of the other guys I surfed with, who also were on unemployment, seemed kind of grumpy. At some point, I realized that all play and no work is not the pathway to happiness and fulfillment. I’m so glad God allowed me to experience my dream. When I eventually did get a job, I had a brand new appreciation for work. I realized that when I work hard it makes my play time so much better.

I’m at the age that many of my contemporaries have retired. I occasionally ask them what retirement is like. Some of them seem to like it, but the majority of them seem kind of bored. This is one reason I have no desire to retire anytime soon. I like to work and I like to play, and I know that if I only play I will be miserable and if I only work I will be miserable.

I hope my experience helps someone who’s daydreaming about playing every day. Take it from me, it’s not what you think!

Stay close to Jesus,

Steve