Jaws

Jessica likes to tell me that the ocean isn't safe. She can't stand the idea that there are things in the water that she can't control. Let alone, a 36 foot whale shark!

About 3 weeks ago, Jess and I got to swim with whale sharks just of the coast of Cancun. Jessica's grandparents took us on a family vacation and they jumped at the idea of getting us on a whale shark tour. So, at 6am on Monday morning our family headed to the dock and after about an hour long boat ride the engine stopped and we were in the whale shark waters. After 10 minutes or so of nothing but blue waters, we saw the fin. There is some kind of crazy feeling that crawls through your insides when you see a fin cutting through the water's surface. What we thought we were seeing was the dorsal fin the shark, but what we soon found out was that the fin was only the very tip of the tale.

The boat captain found the direction the shark was heading and then made a large circle and got in front of the fin. Jess and I were first up. With our snorkeling gear on, we straddled the edge of safety in our boat. Seconds later our guide yelled at us to jump in, and then he was gone. We followed him, but it was not easy to take that leap in the water. Every thought going through my mind goes something like, "I must be nuts! Sharks eat people! Even Jaws wasn't 36 feet long! I don't care if they are friendly sharks, they are huge! That tail could cut me in half!"

As soon as we got in the water, the guide was yelling for us to look down. This didn't make sense to me because the fin was a long ways from where we were, but I soon found out that just feet below me was the head of 36 foot long giant of the ocean. That first look down was incredible. Talk about a rush! All i could see was a huge spotted mass of shark. Jess kind of freaked that first time in the water, so we kinda took it easy, but in the process we got a ways off from our guide. That was the scariest part. The only safety and hope in my mind was being next to our guide. I trusted him!

As the day went on, we swam with the whale shark several different times. It turns out that they are pretty slow movers. I'm no Michael Phelps, but I could out swim this guy pretty easily. It was an incredible feeling swimming beside this creation. Unimaginable! You only see things like these on the discovery channel! Not that day. It was very real!

This day has continually brought me back to thoughts about my guide on the tour. It was an unbelievable challenge to ask us to swim with sharks, and the only way I was getting in the water was with him in first. Even then, it wasn't easy to jump in. Finally, when I did get in, I wanted to be as close as possible. And I quickly found that the best way to see the shark was to be right beside my guide. He knew exactly where to be. And I wasn't going to let him out of my sight!

Why should it be any different with Jesus? If I really knew what I was up against in this world, I don't think Jesus would be more than a thought away. It makes me ask myself....Do I really follow him, or am I ok on my own? Truthfully, I do way too much on my own. Way too much. I guess I know that I have a lot to work on!

Jarred

The Colorado River

Here's a beter picture of some of the waves in the canyon! You better strap it on for this kind of intensity!

Out of Control

I wrote this quite a while ago, but I thought it was definitely worth reposting...Hope you enjoy!

There is a very special girl in my life that seems to always be reminding me that I am "out of control." Thanks to an incredible week on the Colorado River, I am reminded of how right she is.

River mile 231 will probably never set easy on my mind as I try to sleep in the days prior to captaining that rapid. After becoming the first captain in the history of United Christian Youth Camp to entirely flip a paddle boat, I realize just how "out of control" I am. Looking back on how our team approached the giant roller in the middle of the 231 wave train, I can't help but trust that I did everything in my own ability to keep our boat square and "in control." Despite an unrelenting effort, we were toast. Slammed and dogpiled by water without a second to react. Being underwater is probably one of the scarier things that I have ever been through personally. Kris, my friend and captain does great job of describing an encounter such as this, but words will never prepare you for the kind of power underneath the waters’ surface.

After seconds (seeming like minutes) of helpless longing for the surface, I found myself back on top. Amongst such confusion, I still carried the role of paddle captain to my team. I found myself swimming to shore and praying that God would just take care of the 6 men who were trusted in my care. I realized that I had no chance to rescue anyone from where I stood. That is a tough feeling to swallow. My sense of responsibility to my team was pounding in my chest, but all I could do was wait and hope. On the other end of the line, my good friend and fellow paddle captain, Reuben, had his paddle boat positioned to rescue oncoming swimmers. Sean, one of the men in Reuben's boat, later put some amazing words to his experience. He mentioned how hard it was to just wait and throw lines to the men, when there were still 2 missing men (myself and a guy named Tim who had swam to the shore). Sean wanted to just hurl himself in and take off to find us. My explanation does little to describe the intensity behind his words.

This experience does nothing short of pointing directly at God's love for us. A love that gives us a choice. How hard it must have been for God to stand on the shore while His only son was trapped by the rapids. Because of God’s love for us, our choice is simply, "Do I want rescued, or not."

You see, we are all in the middle of the rapids, whether we know it or not. We are flat out drowning. Underwater. Pounding like crazy. And here God is with his hand outstretched to us. All I need to do as a regular guy is to recognize that I am in over my head. Revelation chapter 2 says this, "Remember the height from which you have fallen." Oh, how often I forget just that. My team was nothing short of grateful to be rescued. I was grateful to climb up on the motor rig next to Kris. I longed to be rescued, and I pray that we each may continue to see how desperately we need rescuing. I pray that I remember that I am "out of control." For He is and always will be the captain of all boats.

Jarred

Dan the Man

It's kind of crazy how God puts people in your life to bring you to where he needs you to be. For me, when I found out that Dan would be my first roommate, I thought it was the other way around. I thought that living with Dan was going to be great for him. Like I had something great to offer Dan. I hope it was great to an extent, but I really found out that it was probably more for me.

3 weeks ago I didn't know if I would ever be able to talk to Dan again. I didn't even know if he would make it through the night. If you don't know what really happened to Dan, then you would probably be surprised to hear that about 3 weeks ago Dan slipped off a rock face and fell approximately 50 feet onto a bed of rocks. Pretty crazy huh! Not even Dan the Man should have survived that one! I guess God had other plans in mind...

Through a series of events, Dan was rescued by a guy who heard cries for help. Instead of searching for Dan, he ran straight to the rangers station 1.5 miles away to get medical teams in route. The guy said that he had a gut feeling that this person crying for help was in bad shape and that he needed medical help if he was going to make it. Now he called it a "gut feeling" but a lot of us know that God stood beside Dan that Saturday afternoon. The doctors said that time was one of Dan's biggest opponents that day, and if things had gone any differently then Dan might not be here today.

After 3 weeks of questions, surgeries, tubes, treatments, and victories, Dan came back to us. Yesterday I visited Prescott Valley's rehab hospital and sat down to eat lunch with one of my best friends in the world. I can't describe what kind of feeling that was. I can't describe what kind of miracle God has done in Dan. I can't tell you why a guy who should be dead or in a bed for the rest of his life was walking around and making fun of me like nothing had ever changed. I can tell you that God isn't finished with Dan's chapter. And as if Dan didn't already have a story to tell, he now has more. Praise God! No more words for a story like this...just excitement about what is to come...

Jarred

In the Beginning

"In the beginning Jess, God made the mountains, the sun, and the trees..." To be honest, I hate this picture, but Jess thinks it's the funniest thing ever. She says that this is the picture where Jarred is teaching me about life. My wife makes me laugh so much! I would be way to serious without her in my life today.

So, in the beginning, I wanted to write a little about this blog. The idea of My Life and His Story came about this past year while me and the program team at United Christian Youth Camp were writing our Middle School program for summer camp. My Life, is all about the idea that we each share a small chapter in God's greater story. And My Life and yours looks different. The exciting part is how God pieces each of our chapters into His Story. How He presses, shapes, and fits us into this world and each other's lives is incredible and worth telling!

My Life and this blog is centered around a few things. 1, that my life is not so much about me, but much more about Him. 2, that my life isn't always easy, in fact, most of the time it's hard. And following Jesus doesn't make it easier. But it is better. 3, that I make mistakes, and in those mistakes God uses them for a better story. And finally 4, that I need to tell my story, not just through words, but by loving God and people. It's not a story to tell everyone how cool Jarred is, but it's a story to share with people in hopes that we would be encouraged and challenged in our lives.

So, I hope you enjoy reading a little about my life and the ups and downs it entails.

Later