The seashore – I am always amazed at all the changes in me when I stand on the beach and look out to see and hear the ocean. My mind nearly always sings “Majesty, worship His majesty”. I don’t even remember the rest of that song but those words seem to be the only ones that can capture the beauty and the magnitude and the detail.
The artistry in the sunrise reflected on the waves, water, and skies that go on forever until they finally meet, and shells in an array of shapes, colors, textures, and sizes, and grains of sand that cling to wet feet removed from millions of other grains that sparkle in the sun.
It is God’s glory on display to delight all the senses.
Every single time I am amazed and undone by it as memories float back from childhood trips to the beach. I remember so many details – digging for sand crabs; picking up shells and learning not to keep the “closed” ones; the discovery of a baby octopus: sightings of dolphins…and sharks; riding the waves and daddy lifting me in the air by my bathing suit straps and setting me upright when a wave sent me tumbling over and upside down.
I don’t really know why. I just know that when I am at the ocean I can slow down both my body and my mind, breathe the salt air in deeply and relax.
Maybe it’s the vastness of it all that makes my everyday frustrations seem smaller and less significant.
Maybe it’s the waves and the undertow and the tides repeating each day displaying God’s power and precision.
Maybe it’s the childhood connection and the reminder that despite whatever waves send me tumbling, there is a Daddy who will lift me up and set me a right again.
Regardless, the ocean, EVERY TIME, leaves its mark on me with a deeper inner peace and an increased desire to create alongside the Creator. I leave with a renewed respect for His creation, and a resolve to do what I can to preserve this beauty for future generations.
