This is what they were looking at... so I stopped and watched it with them...
The powerful sounds of the waves reminded me of a personal epiphany from my high school days. I was spending a solemn afternoon at the beach, watching the waves ... once I could drive, this is where I spent my downtime... sitting cross-legged in the sand (trying to find a quiet spot at the beach in San Diego can be a task all it's own...)
And the epiphany? Water (whether it be in the form of placid lake water or the almightly ocean waves) is a lot like the power of God's love. Like God's love, the ocean waves continually roll... they come in, and go out, and come in and go out... God's love is supreme, consistent, dynamic, sovereign, enveloping and comforting.
Some of the larger ocean waves can be painful, and destruction ensues. You might be tossed about (experiencing something in life that doesn't seem "fair") but if you keep swimming then the next wave comes and picks you up and pushes you forward again. You may be humbled and more relient on Him than ever before... or shattered to pieces by fighting against the force of the waves.
At other times the water is more serene... like a calm lake or gentle stream. The water gently rolls... soft and peaceful, calm and comforting. Consistently the waves lap up on shore and remind you of His gentle love.
His love endures... figuratively, even more so than the longest river known to man (the Nile).
His love runs deep... figuratively, deeper than the deepest point of the ocean: "Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest point in Earth's oceans. The bottom there is 10,924 meters (35,840 feet) below sea level. If Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, were placed at this location it would be covered by over one mile of water. The Challenger Deep is named after the British survey ship Challenger II, which discovered this deepest location in 1951." (Source: www.geology.com)
I have found that when I need a good kick-in-the-pants, spot of encouragement or even a relaxing afternoon... the ocean is where I want to be. There is something so peaceful about the sound of waves washing up on shore and then draining back out to sea.... slowly trickling over the tiny shells and rocks and wet sand.
Refreshing, invigorating yet peaceful, cleansing and gritty and just downright rad.
Ever grateful am I to live in Southern California...
