Friday, September 17, 2010

The Beckoning Whispers

As I sit in the kitchen, the sound of the sea beckons me. From the beach house, the waters whisper, calling me to the beach. I grab my sunscreen and my towel and walk across the street and into the soft, dry sand. I sink ankle deep with each step I take, the gentle waves whooshing louder the closer I come. In moments I reach the water’s edge. It’s beauty never ceases to amaze me. Blue stretches before me, as far as my eyes can see. Summer’s gentle swells roll on the beach, breaking only a foot from the dry sand. Only when I step into the water do I feel the strength of its pull. Standing ankle deep, my feet sinking into the sand, I let the waves break against my legs. Small as they are, I feel their strength as they rush to the shore and break against my legs, splashing up to my waist. I brace myself as larger waves approach, knowing they have the strength to knock me down. After breaking, the waves rush back to their ocean home, pulling against my legs, beckoning me to come deeper, to immerse myself in their crystal clear waters.


I feel the strength of the small, summertime Pacific waves, and I look beyond, seeing the blue curve of the ocean’s edge, miles out to sea. I marvel at the power of the waters, stretching for thousands of miles in every direction as I stand on the North Shore of Ohau. What tremendous power lives in this ocean! It’s so great and so strong my mind cannot fathom it. Nor can I explore its depths. I observe only what washes ashore and what I can see from a few hundred yards out, as far as I feel safe swimming. Farther in the ocean, the waves boom and crash against rocks and coral, thundering across the bay.

Just as the gentle waves washing the shore call to me, God calls his people in a still, small voice. In the quiet times when we listen for His voice, he calls to each of us, beckoning us closer to Him. As we walk closer to him, listening for His voice, He speaks clearer, louder. Only when we immerse ourselves in God through prayer, His word, and others, can we begin to feel His power, the power that created the ocean’s waves, that created the booming surf. As I wander at the edges of God’s greatness, experiencing His waves along the shore, I sense the awesome majesty and greatness of Him, stretching farther than my eyes can see, deeper than my mind can conceive. I hear his voice in still, small whispers, washing my soul clean, and I long to plunge in, swimming stroke by stroke nearer to the heart of God.

2 comments:

  1. Nancy...this is beautiful! You captured the awesome majesty and mystique of the emotions drawn out of our very souls at the ocean's edge. I have always thought there is no place on this earth where we are closer to God than at the trinity of the shore, where sky, earth and water meet. Sky,earth and water...the beginning of the creation story...perhaps that's why we are so drawn to the shore...seeking the place where we find the very heart of God. Thanks for sharing this devotion!

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  2. Thanks, Marsha. I love your observation of the trinity of sky, water, and earth meeting. No wonder the sea draws us to God, the three in one!

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