She was about 6 or 7 and just looked like a total beach girl already, she was so cute! She was running up and down the shore with her dad and kicking up water. He then started to go out into the ocean and was holding out his hand waiting for her. As she started to walk toward him she got scared of some waves and ran back up to shore and then got the courage to try again and get tossed down and then gets back up and finally just sprints and jumps into his arms and they start to swim deeper out into the ocean. He holds her and they go over all different sized waves, some small and easy and some large and challenging and some scary and some enjoyable. But the whole time he was holding her and one time he even threw her up into the air and OVER a wave to protect her from it... and you could tell that she was afraid when he threw her and she didn't know why he was throwing her but when she landed safely back in his arms after the wave passed she understood why he did it. And she learns as she is in his arms riding waves and floating in the sun, she tries to do it on her own once she gets the hang of it but always ended up back in her Dad's arms cause she can't do it on her own, no matter how good she thinks she is at riding the waves. The whole time they were laughing and playing without a worry in the world, they were simply spending time with one another. Delighting in one another's company. Once they started swimming back to shore everything went really smooth, they rode the waves in and then got up and walked up the shore once their feet hit the ground. They were hand in hand as they were before they went out deeper. Then her Dad swooped her up in a towel and held her in his arms as he dried her and held her after the adventurous but tiring journey they just had out in the ocean.
Oh the Father's love!
So this actually happened. Everything I wrote above I watched happen right before my eyes and the Lord just broke me down as I watched. It was such a beautiful picture and example of God's heart towards us and the ocean is such a great representation of our life on this earth. We are the girl. The girl who gets afraid and knocked down and then eventually runs fearlessly into the Father's arms. The more we trust Him, the deeper He will take us. We go through small things and big things that either knock us down or that we conquer, but no matter what wave comes at us we are in the Father's arms. Sometimes the Lord throws us up in the air without explanation or warning to protect us from something we didn't see coming because He knows what is best for us and He knows which waves we should dodge, and He does all the work in protecting us! No matter how good we get at riding the waves and making it in this world we always come back to our need for Him. He loves to spend time with us and laugh with us and simply be still with us, both enjoying each other's presence. And eventually we will swim back to shore with Him and we will be forever safe from the waves of this world. We will be in His presence, warm, dry, filled with joy unending, still in His arms... and I believe God will hold me, and tell me how much He loved laughing with me while we rode every wave together on earth. It isn't how big or how many waves you rode that He is going to talk about, He is going to talk about how much He just loved having His arms around you. Let Him put His arms around you, trust Him when He launches you into the air out of nowhere, remember it is for your protection and what is best, trust Him! Ride the waves with Him, big or small, pits or praises, He wants to be with you through it all - because He simply loves to be with you, He delights in you in a way you will never understand this side of Heaven. Laugh and play with your Father, slow down life to soak it all in. What a beautiful Dad we all have, what a perfect Father.
Oceans by Hillsong
No comments:
Post a Comment