I absolutely love the ocean. Maybe it is because as a child, we visited the ocean. Maybe it's because almost ten years of our boys' lives have included a yearly trip to the ocean. Maybe it's both or neither of those reasons. Whatever the source of my deep love, the ocean is a sanctuary for me.
We just returned from Myrtle Beach and while it is our vacation ritual, we had not been there for a period of four years. There were days I yearned to see the cloud-white foam of the breaking waves, smell the summer air sprinkled with saltwater, feel the warm, welcoming breeze, sink my toes in the sand, and bask in the overall beauty where the water meets the land, the beach. There were other days when it never entered my mind or memory, because it had been so long, and I was nearly a thousand miles away.
When we arrived this, I felt like I was reacquainting with a long-lost friend. Of course I saw the cloud-white foam, smelled the summer air sprinkled with saltwater, felt the warm breeze, sunk my toes in the sand, and marveled at the overall beauty where the water meets the land. As I took all of that in, though, a new sense came over me. I was awestruck at how identical the scene was, as compared to four years earlier. I was comforted by the familiarity and amazed at the same time. I thought about the fact that every single second of the time we were away, the ocean continued churning and churning and churning. Every day, every night, every season, every month, every year...it churned exactly as it was at that moment, even as I was nearly a thousand miles away.
In that moment, I vividly saw the metaphorical connection to God's love. God's love is constant and continual. Whether we are feeling His warm embrace because we are standing right in front of Him, or we are nearly a thousand miles away because of a difficult season, a distraction, a wrong turn, an unbelief, or an endless list of other possibilities, His love for us keeps churning and churning and churning.
I noticed throughout the week we spent ocean side, we couldn't wait each day to reacquaint with it. We spent the evenings taking in the moonlit waves and relishing the lullaby of breaking waves. Daybreak was greeted by a warm cup of coffee while savoring the same setting as the night and day before. We walked, exercised, played, rested, lived... alongside our long-lost friend. The more of the ocean we experienced, the more of it we wanted to experience.
The same is true for our yearning for God's love. When we are a thousand miles away, we may give Him a fleeting thought. When we are in His presence, we will desire His presence more and more. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to me and I will draw near to you." I hope anyone reading this who may need to be re(acquainted) with their "long-lost friend" will feel that desire. Whether in His presence or a thousand miles away, His love for us will continue to churn and churn and....
I pray you feel it...
