3 days by the sea….

I never realize how much I miss it until I’m there again…. the sheer majesty of the ocean is awe inspiring.  The sound of the waves mesmerize me into a slow release of tension that I don’t even know I possess until it has dissipated.  I’ve always been a water baby and find much solace from the sea and its rhythmic soothing acoustics.  It restores my soul in unfathomable ways.  I have no doubt that I would be a much more relaxed version of myself if I were to gaze upon it daily and listen to its song along with my morning coffee. But, I am thankful for three days.

This time as I sat on the shore and watched, I captured a Tree Star in the revelation that the sea is also a metaphor for life.  God gives us so many messages in His natural world if we just be still and ponder.  The relentless waves are like the days of our life…they just keep on coming…we can’t stop them.  Those uncompromising swells sweep the shore clean at times or leave unexpected gifts behind, only to whisk them away again.   The surface can be a calm and inviting mirror of glass with nary a ripple, or the wind can whip the waves into a frenzy of choppy whitecaps.  And, without warning, there are those storms that churn the sea into a maelstrom.  As I sat and watched these distinctive temperaments, I realized…. that it is life.   Time marches on and our days are sometimes calm, sometimes rough, and sometimes terrifying with the fierce intensity of our experiences.  Often we are left with surprises and sometimes they are taken away…before we are ready or perhaps not soon enough.  Just as the sea has a different persona on every shore….so too with life, and each individual’s version of it.

The trip that took me to the sea was really to see a childhood friend. I haven’t seen her in a very long time. Water connected us as children. Swimming was our common love.  She was a kindred spirit long before I knew the term.  We shared the innocence of another time and place along with memories of people that we have loved and lost.  My Tree Star vividly reminded me that she has stood on a vastly different shore than mine.  She has had more storms than calm, and her waves have taken more away than they left behind.  It was bittersweet to spend time with a treasured friend and yet heartrending to see the ravages  of time, even though I know that God’s purpose lies within.  I pray that on her shore, the sea will bring her healing and building up and a time to embrace it all.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8