The beach is God’s most beautiful work. I see HIS majesty in the vastness of the oceans’ multi-colors, His strength in the pattern of the crashing waves, His creativity is shown in the array of shells, sand dollars, plants, and animals that live in the ocean.
The beach, any beach, is my happy place.
On a trip to a new beach on the east coast of Florida, while walking along the shoreline, a cluster of large rocks that had been carved into a portion of the beach area appeared. Being adventuresome, I climbed over the rocks to get to the waterside where small caves had formed. Standing still, watching the water calmly dance around my ankles, the shells playfully tumble over my feet, and listening to the sound of the waves was so calming and peaceful.
Then in the blink of an eye, a storm rolls in, the sky darkens, the waves get rougher.
Our lives can follow a similar pattern. One minute, all is calm in our world; we can see the shells, the water is crystal clear. And the next, a storm is brewing, the air changes, and we can no longer see our feet, but we can feel the scraping of the shells on our ankles and the water splashing higher on our legs as it becomes more difficult even to stand.
An event occurs and turns our life upside down! We are tossed about, our feet can barely touch the ground, water, sand, and shells are crashing around us, and there is nothing to hold onto, except Jesus. Jesus is our anchor!
Hebrews 6: 19-20 assures us that Jesus is our steadfast hope:
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Thank you, Jesus, for being my anchor when my life is out of control, and the waves of life’s circumstances are tossing me about.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Heb 6:19–20). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
