As Vast As The Ocean

March 31st. 2017. Today, I stood and looked out over the ocean and dipped my feet in the water and heard the roar and song of the waves for the first time ever.
What can I tell you? It took my breath away.
Hearing that I needed to do some research for the next book that I'm writing (whose title still remains a mystery…don't worry, I'll tell you eventually.) my sweet flight attendant friend from church let me accompany her on an overnight. So I got to fly commercial for the first time, and lay eyes upon the ocean. One of the best days of my life.
As I sat on the beach next to my friend, I closed my eyes and just heard the waves. The roar followed by the fizz as the waves crashed onto the shore was deafening, but soothing at the same time. The sound of the waves was like thousands of tiny base voices singing the same note all at once. The bubbles as they washed onto shore then retreated back out to sea was like a sigh of relief from the voices, a hissing contentment. The tips of the waves spattered, as if millions of tiny white creatures were racing for the shore.
I watched wave after wave roll up onto the shore. I observed a little bird with long legs running out to bury his beak in the sand after the waters retreated to look for some tasty morsel to eat that might have been carried in by the tide. He would wait until the last minute, then run just ahead of the tide before the larger waves could overtake him. The joy that was brought into my heart from that little bird and from the saltwater dancing their way to shore ran deep and contenting.
As I sat there, little bits and pieces of music filled my mind. “As vast as the ocean, as full as the sea.” I had heard songs, messages, sayings that mentioned that God's love is more vast than the ocean, stronger than a thousand seas. As deep as the ocean, how it surrounds us like the ocean surrounds a swimmer. I've even heard some simple things like God's love is as big as the ocean!
But I never really, fully grasped the meaning of those words until I looked around at the ocean. I found myself agreeing with everyone who has said that His love is like the ocean. I was thinking about it.
Think of how magnificent the ocean is. As far as the eye can see. Deeper than we can fathom. (No, that time, “fathom” was not a pun. Although it would have made a good one… :)) Vast, untamed, unimaginable. Such is the love of God for us.
The ocean is always active. It is never still. Waves tip the surface and the closer they come to the shore, the larger they become. God, Himself, is always at work, always doing something in our lives. Could be small waves, barely making themselves known in the very midst of the Pacific Ocean. They could be huge breakers that overtake you in seconds and plunge you under the waters. You definitely cannot miss seeing the huge waves rolling and tumbling, headed right for the shores. But the Lord, and His love, is never inactive...it's always somewhere changing someone's life, being present in someone's heart.
But my favorite? My friend talked about standing further out into the ocean than I dared venture into. “You can feel the pull of the waves.” She said. “You can literally feel the sand washing out from underneath you and as the waves go back into the ocean, you can feel them pulling you with them, drawing you out. And yet, it's weird because at the same time, you can feel them trying to push you back.”
Even standing in ankle deep water, I could feel this pull that she talked about. Hard to keep my balance. Hard not to go deeper into the waters. Such is the love of God for us. Even if we're only immersing ourselves in, so to speak, ankle deep water, if Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Savior, can you not feel His love trying to pull you further and deeper in? A pull so strong that you fight to take a step back, but you want to take another step forward. The things of this world, the father of lies, sin, the pleasures of this world, our overflowing schedule they try to push us back onto shore. The Lord wants you to go deeper, but the rest of the world wants you to go back to the shore.
I have felt these conflicting pulls before. God's love was so strong that I wanted to go deeper. Knee deep. Waist deep. Shoulder deep. Over my head. But the rest of life...it happens to us all...wanted me to go back onto shore. Try to push me back, knock me over, anything to keep me from going any deeper. Have you felt the pull and tug of God's love, my readers? Perhaps you are feeling it now? Perhaps you feel the longing of the Lord to go into a deeper relationship with you. Breathe in. Take a step forward. It's okay; the God who is calling you to go deeper knows about your fears, He knows about what is holding you back. He knows, and He will take care of you. It's okay...just take that first step. Even if hard things come, it's worth it. As He lets His love, care, forgiveness and chances for second chances wash over you, you will find that it's worth that next step deeper into the relationship with Him.
It was hard for me to leave the ocean. I would have stayed there longer. I would have never left. But the memories that I've taken with me off of the beach will never leave me. The lessons that God taught me about His love just from those four hours of watching the waves tumble and crash onto the shore will become part of me, just as the ocean has.