Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Finding true Love at the beach.


  Ever since I was a little girl, the beach has always been a magical place in my mind. There is something about the sparkling water, white sandy beaches, and sun that elicit a feeling of serenity and near perfection.  I have to imagine that I’m not the only one who feels this way; why else would the beach be among the top destination spots in the world for all types of people?  When I think about the waves in the ocean, memories of my childhood rush to my mind.  An image of me as a little girl in a pink bathing suit  crawling on my hands in the water pretending I was the Little Mermaid , dreaming of my prince charming and singing “Part of Your World” at the top of my lungs. Next, I see a girl a few years older running through the waves pretending to be a lifeguard on a new episode of Bay Watch (It was the nineties, don’t judge too much).  I remember the countless sandcastles my dad and I made, the horrible sunburns I managed to get, and the gallons of water I must have consumed as I played, or rather nearly drowned in the ocean with Teddie every year from intense boogie boarding. 

Fast forward to the present: this year despite my age, the magic still remains but it’s a different type of magic. Today I walked along the shoreline of the ocean for what seemed like miles.  Although we are staying at a wonderful resort with tons of people, I love to seek out a quite, uninhabited stretch of sand along the beach and sit.  This is where the true ‘magic’ is revealed to me.  As I sat in the sand watching the waves crash onto the shore almost rhythmically, I saw God’s beauty everywhere I looked.  How incredible is it that there is a God who created every wave, every grain of sand, and every creature of the ocean.  He has complete control over ever crest in the water, every tide, and every creature’s life.  Much like the ocean, this same God has complete control over every circumstance in the world today.  I have realized that despite the heartache, the devastating disasters, and the problems in society and the world, God is not just up there watching the show.  Not a single event goes by without his knowledge of its existence, and just as we are saddened and mourn of the pain, He grieves so much greater.  We do not serve a heartless, indifferent God, rather we serve a loving Father who cares for His creation. 

I must admit, even to this day, every time I go to the beach songs from The Little Mermaid run through my mind at least a dozen times.  I remember telling my childhood friends that if we swam as mermaids, surely Eric would magically appear before our eyes and we would fall madly in love (whatever that meant) and live happily ever after with our Prince as we sailed off into the sunset while a lobster serenaded us.  Now, I have come to see that my dream might have been a bit unrealistic (obviously lobster’s don’t sing…).  Truthfully, although I have yet to sail off into the sunset with ‘Eric’, I have something far greater, the love of a King. 
Since I am an avid reader, bringing three or four books to the beach is almost as important as sunscreen.  On this particular trip, I packed “The Christian Atheist” (a good book by the way).  A comment was made in the book about Love and God.  I realized that Love is not just an adjective or quality of God, it is what defines God.  He doesn’t just give Love, He IS love.  Although this is a simple statement, to unpack it, I had to ask myself What Love is. After many conversations with God and much reading, I think I am beginning to understand Love.  It is not just a feeling, a few sincere sweet words, or an attitude.  Love is an action.  It keeps no record of wrongs, has no limits, and is given sacrificially and freely.  In the words of a great song my Mumford and Sons, Love “will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free”.  Love is when you care so greatly for a person that you are willing to give everything for their prosperity and joy, even if they do not deserve it.  Love is when the father forgave his prodigal son for deeply hurting or wronging him and took him back with open arms even if he was unworthy.  Truly, Love is when the Lord, our Father, gave his only son to die for us despite our sin so that we would not die but have eternal life with Him.  Today, I felt this consuming love through every fiber of my existence as I sat humbled before the Lord in awe of his beauty as I took in his creation.  Despite my shame and sinfulness, He truly loves me and wants me to experience pure joy in Him.  I must admit, this is better than any ‘Eric’ or prince charming I could have ever imagined.  How incredible would it be if I loved like the Lord.  What would that look like? How would it impact people? For isn’t this what God has called each of us to; To recognize His love and live out this love to every person we meet?

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