As I mentioned in Part 1, my husband and I just returned from a vacation at the beach. In many ways relaxing at the beach, basically doing nothing for a week was hard for me. I am a multi-tasker by nature so just hanging out at the beach all day every day proved to be a bit of a challenge. However, God knew what He was doing and that I needed help disconnecting. So He provided distractions for my mind that included people to watch, books to listen to (reading at the beach is a struggle) and many analogies and ideas that sprung from those things I was observing. Which brings us to Part 2 of the Beach Blog.
Many days, I would sit on the edge of the ocean just watching as wave after wave came crashing to the shore. My husband liked being in the ocean as the waves crashed into him, but the constant motion and strength of the waves quickly proved too much for me. I preferred the shoreline. The thing about the waves is that they never stopped. They just kept coming all day, all night, day after day. Some waves were strong, knocking over those in the water. Some waves were gentle and relaxing, almost rocking you to sleep. The analogy God brought about the waves was this- waves are just like the love of Jesus? His love just keeps coming day after day, night after night, year after year.. Sometimes his love comes in big, strong sweeping waves that are undeniable. While other times his love is gentle and peaceful. Regardless of how it comes, it does come, it always will, never ending. After all, isn’t that what we read in 1 Corinthians 13 – that His love never fails and never ends?
The beach was crowded with people. Which makes sense since it was July and it was hot, so what better place to be than at the beach where the ocean water is cool and refreshing. To think that God not only created each of those people lining the beach, but loves every single one of them is mind boggling. Sure it’s easy to see how He would love the cute little kids with southern accents that came storming onto the scene, announcing their presence to all. But it’s much harder to understand how He can love the loud mouthed dad, who had been drinking since 9am and is now yelling at his kids, or the selfie obsessed teens who came to the beach only to take pictures of themselves. The thing is that God made each and everyone of us, even those people that are different from us, ones that we might prefer not to be around. Not only did God make them, He loves them and came to save them! John 3:16 says that “everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life” and Luke 19:10, that “He came to seek and save the lost.”
Once again the analogy to real life did not escape me. Waves of love, uncovering so many partially buried seashells and people. As I sat just close enough to the shoreline for the water to rush over my feet, I began once again to notice how many shells each wave brought with it. More than likely many of those shells were the same ones time and time again being brought out of the water by a wave, and then almost running back in to hide under the sand. However, the outcome was that some of the shells ended up on the shore being partially buried, only an edge protruding from the sand. Which once again reminded me of the people we come in contact with on a regular basis. Let me see if I can explain.
Every week, many of us encounter the same people over and over again, whether that is at our churches, jobs or neighborhood pools. Is it possible that God is the one who keeps bringing “that” person into our lives over and over again? Perhaps “that” person is partially buried and needs someone like you to gently push away the sand to discover more of who they are. Maybe “that” person needs you to grab them out of the rushing water, before the waves of life pull them back into the ocean. Or just maybe “that” person needs you to pick them up, clean them up and take them straight to the waiting arms of Jesus!
Rest and time away often gives us fresh perspective, clearer vision and a heart more attuned with our Savior. As we relaunch ourselves into “reality” this week, my hope is to do so with a slower and more curious way of life. My desire is to take the time, put in the effort and really get to know more about the people I interact with on a regular basis. To have open eyes to see those being brought in by the waves of life and just perhaps loving them like Jesus, with an unending type of love.
Captivated Hearts 