The Next Wave

One of my favorite pastimes is to sit on the beach and do NOTHING!

While I am doing NOTHING, I do enjoy observing people and watching the waves break over and over and over again.

One of the most prevalent scenes I see over and over and over again, is children (and adults) running back and forth avoiding at all costs the ocean water touching them.

There is this beautiful dance which takes place over and over and over again!

Children are standing on the sand as the wave breaks and sends the water rushing up the wet, hard sandy beach.
The children run as fast as they can away from the approaching water giggling and screaming.
Safe from the foamy water, the water starts to recede back into the vast ocean.

The children once again race after the water making sure their little toe toes never touch the cold water.
When all of a sudden another wave breaks and the children scream in fear as they switch directions and run back up the shoreline to avoid the impending tidal wave approaching them.

The giggling, the laughing and the screaming is hilarious to watch.

How often does this happen?
This little game of tag seemingly goes on and on forever.
The back and forth scene happens over and over and over again.

Eventually, some of the children get distracted or are not paying attention and then, “WHAM” the relentless water gets them, enveloping their feet and ankles with white foam and cold, salty water.

As they yell in delight, there is almost a sense of resignation, their body language sighing in relief, “Oh, Big Ocean, you got me!”

As a Christian and as a Pastor, I cannot help but turn this beautiful scene into a theological analogy.

The ocean is of course, God and God’s grace and love.
The Children are you and me.

How many times does God offer His grace and love over and over and over again.
The relentless waves of God’s grace pounding the sand of our lives, reaching out, yearning to envelope us, to touch us, to hold us, to embrace us.

And yet, what do we do?
We play the game.
We dance.
We run.
We avoid.
We scream.
We whisk ourselves away from the foam of grace only to be left standing on the dry sand.

And then?
All of a sudden, we are caught unaware and God’s grace grabs us, holds us, soaks us and our very soul relaxes and sighs and breathes deep the comfort, the love and the beautiful, unconditional love, grace and mercy of our God!

And once we experience that, we cannot wait for the next wave and the next wave and the next wave to make it happen over and over and over again...

See you at the beach!
Laugh often and Fear not!
Pastor David!