The waves erase all of the disturbances from the day. 

When I am at the ocean, I feel the tension leaving my body. As the waves crash in and out, I feel myself breathing easily. The continual, inexorable waves crashing in and out, make me feel God‘s presence and His grace. As the waves come in and out, all of the trauma and disturbances of the day just disappear leaving in their wake smooth sand that is void of trauma. While the beautiful mysteries of God are woven throughout creation, I believe God made His ocean as a special reflection of His grace. 

When my son was very young, we went to the beach frequently. Sitting in the tide pools and playing in the sand were his favorite things to do, and after a couple of hours, he would be exhausted.  After feeding and cleaning him, I would put him in the jogging stroller and push him down the beach along the waterline. This was my favorite part of the day. He would slowly stop crying and fall to sleep. The steady sounds of the waves would drown out the cries of the gulls and the shouting children. As I walked along the water following the three lines that the stroller wheels made in the sand, I could feel the tension leave my shoulders. The incredible burden of trying to manage a baby’s volume and schedule in such a way as to not trigger an outburst of rage or degradation would be gone for just a while. Even as I write this, almost a decade later, that sense of relief is palpable. The surf would wash through the wheels of the stroller and across my feet as the sun shone down on me and my boy.  No matter how things would be later that day, they were at peace then. I didn’t realize it then, but I was being loved so very deeply by my Heavenly Father. He saw me, He saw my boy, and He had a plan to save us. 

Turning around would show that only my very recent tracks were visible; and those quickly being washed clean, taken back out to sea on the tide. Whatever mess I made of the sand, whatever hurts and heartaches I felt in my life, God’s ocean of grace washed it all away. 

Dear sister, if you are experiencing hurt, trauma, broken relationships, abuse, depression, anxiety, illness, financial crisis, or a crisis of faith, hear this now: 

God sees you. 

He sees your family. 

He has a plan to save you.

“Praise the Lord, my soul; 

all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 

Praise the Lord, my soul, 

and forget not all his benefits—

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 

who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 

who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

ABOUT OUR BLOGGER

Sarah Flowers lives in idyllic Chadds Ford, where she is steeped in beauty and connection to the land and its history. She loves coffee and flowers and getting to know Jesus. A lifelong learner, she seeks to follow God’s plan to bring justice to the under-resourced. Sarah is a self-declared serial optimist and melodiphile; there’s always a path to the sunny side and a soundtrack for the journey! She is a mom and wife and a grateful alumna of Northwood University.

Her former iterations include automotive professional and shoe diva. Sarah serves on the Deacon Team at Willowdale Chapel.