If Grace is an ocean, we're all sinking......

The past three days have revolved solely around the beach.  Our daily routine has basically been, wake up, eat breakfast, head to the beach.  We lather up with sunscreen and lay on our towels until it gets so hot that we can't stand it.  And then we go running to the edge of the water, make a huge girly deal about how "cold the water is" and then jump and push our way through the water until we get the the "breaker" where we take deep breaths and dive in.

There is no better feeling than having your body tossed about the waves, salt water rushing through your hair and over your face and the sound of the pounding surf in your ears.

Today as Joy, Heather, Julie Ann and I were alternately floating and dodging the waves that seemed to be bent on stealing our bathing suits, Julie Ann commented that the ocean was like the power of the Lord. How it is so strong and powerful. How the power is great enough to kill, to obliterate a person, or even an entire town, but how it is also beautiful and perfect.   

As the water continued to roll past us, so did the analogy.  We talked about how like the Grace of the Lord, all who swim in the water are moved by it no matter if they want to be or not.  If a wave is coming at me, I don't have the option of having my body tossed to and fro by it or not.  I WILL be moved by the power of the water.  The only choice I have is how I will handle it.  I can either dive under it, jump over it, or do nothing and be pummeled to the ocean floor by it.  We also discovered that if your kept your body in a long sleek line, you could zoom right through the waves and come out unscathed.  However, if your flailed about and fought the water, you tended to get tossed and turned, dragged on the ocean floor, water in your nose, etc.  

Sometimes we would narrowly miss getting nailed by wave, would dive in time, and would come back up only to get nailed by a second, bigger wave that had come up while we were under water escaping the first one.  The first thing I did after coming back above the surface was wipe the water out of my eyes and feel around with my feet for solid ground.  Usually if I got caught by a second wave it was because I was so focused on getting my feet back under me that I just didn't see it coming.  I do this with the Lord as well...I worry and fuss about "Getting back on track" before I can relax and let the Lord carry me when all He wants from me is not to be "ready" or "prepared" or "right before Him" but to just be willing to let Him carry me.  To know that I am just floating in Him, willing to go where He carries me.