By Jessica Brodie
Are you a mountains person or a beach person?
Even though I was born and raised in Miami, fully accustomed to the ocean and sand and all the beautiful breezes and warm weather, I moved to the mountains in 2002 and absolutely fell in love with the region. It felt as if I were walking in a place as old as creation itself, and it spoke to my whole being. Even though I left in 2010 to move to the midlands of South Carolina, I still feel like the mountains are “home,” and I suspect my husband and I will eventually settle there when the time is right.
However, recently I spent a week at the beach for vacation, and being there felt like a balm to my soul. Just being there on the coast, waking up and putting my feet in the water and feeling the warm sand on my skin, reminded me of how I should be living. While I’m grateful for my home in the suburbs, sometimes my daily life with all its trappings of comfortable, regular suburban living feels so far away from what I believe the Lord intends for me. Normally, I spend my days in air conditioning with Wi-Fi and all the modern conveniences I could ask for. Yet on the shore, all of that was gone. I felt natural, and in that natural state, completely free.
One morning I stood on the shore, ankle deep as waves crashed one after another in the distance. The trail of water left a smooth sheen on the earth, as if wiping away all its impurities and pulling them back into the depths. Shells and scraps of human life, rocks and tiny sand creatures, all tumbled into the deep, leaving a fresh and clean surface of sand, like an unpainted canvas.
Pure.
Pristine.
I couldn’t see beneath the surface of the deep, yet I trusted what I’d been told—beneath that vast blue expanse lay wonders untold.
As I stood there watching, the waves pressed on relentlessly, uninterrupted in their beautiful rhythm and pattern, a pattern God himself created.
It didn’t matter that I stood there—the waves pressed on.
It didn’t matter that human beings had built a lifeguard station nearby—the waves pressed on.
It didn’t matter that someone had accidentally left their flip-flops or beach towel too close to the water—the waves pressed on.
They pressed on and pressed on and pressed on, always doing their work, always flowing and dancing, cleaning and purifying the world in exactly the way God intended.
And nothing could stop them. They never can.
It reminds me of what God settles on my heart often: the notion that the things we go through in this life are minuscule in comparison to God’s kingdom. Suffering, joy, all things good and bad, are all pulled into the depths of the ocean just like the waves sweep away the shells and rocks and debris. The waves keep coming no matter what.
I think that is the nature of this human existence for those of us who belong to Christ, for we get to be a part of his eternal picture.
The waves press on, but we continue.
God’s plan continues.
God himself continues, timeless and perfect and true.
It’s hard sometimes not to get caught up in the distractions of everyday life—the shells and rocks all around us. But if we can just pull our eyes away from the shore and toward the vast ocean, embracing the big picture of God’s vast plan and presence and trusting in the wonders unseen, what a blessing we experience.
Colossians 3:2 tells us, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (NIV).
And 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
I’m not sure who needs to hear this reminder today, but I know I certainly did.
Today, do what you can in your corner of the world to share the eternal promise that God offers to us all, if only we believe and follow him.
And like the waves, press on in faith, knowing God holds you close.
~
If you know someone who would benefit from reading this blog, please share this with them:
I'm so excited to share with you some news that is extraordinarily close to my heart—and the long-awaited answer to a prayer. My Christian contemporary novel The Memory Garden releases this spring! The paperback comes out May 6. If you’re interested in joining my launch team to help spread the word about the book, I’d love to have you! You'll enjoy exclusive bonuses for launch members, including weekly videos in our special Facebook group, and be eligible for weekly prizes throughout the launch. You'll also get to read the book early. Click here to join the team.
Thanks to my Patreon sponsors: Matt Brodie, Emily Dodd, Jane, Marcia Hatcher, Frances Nwobi, Kathleen Patella, Billy Robinson, Yancy Rose, and Lanny Turner.
SHARE TODAY’S BLOG ON SOCIAL MEDIA: CLICK HERE OR THE SOCIAL LINKS BELOW.