Gracie Girl Blog

The ocean. It’s big, it’s powerful. It’s a refuge for a lot of people. It’s home to a lot of animals. When I really think about it, it’s amazing to think that God thought to put great seas between our lands.

I’ve always loved the ocean. We go to the beach at least once a year and for as long as I can remember, the waves have been like a second home.I’m a country girl first, but second in my heart would be the ocean. It’s taught me a lot over the years…

Respect. With big waves you learn quickly to respect them. You cannot muscle through a giant barrel crashing down on you. You cannot stop the waves or control them. There’s something beautiful in that though. We live in a world obsessed with control. Control over your life, your relationships, your future. Sometimes it’s nice to let go and get tossed around a little.

Facing fears. The trick to swimming at the beach is to get in far enough that you are passed the crashing zone. A lot of times big waves will crash before that though. If you are in the wrong place, the crashing wave will knock you off your feet and you go through what feels like the inside of a washing machine. It’s not fun. The way to avoid this is when you see a big wave coming, go toward it. That way you can dive under or go over and not get caught. Doing this takes some getting used to. Human instinct is to run the other way or stay put because how strong can a wall of water REALLY be, right? But in order to avoid worse pain, you have to face your fears.

Getting back in. I’ve always been more of a water person then a sand person. I’ve always loved to boogie board too (still do). For some reason my parents’ idea of vacation is NOT getting tossed around in the ocean for hours on end (can’t imagine why). As a kid I learned how  to brave the waves by myself. One time, when I was about 9, I got caught in a rip current. It happened fast. I looked up and realized I was too far from the shore. Then my mom and Grammy where motioning for me to come back in. To my dismay, I realized I couldn’t swim in (or kick in because I had my boogie board). Long story short, the lifeguard had to come out and get me. I was pretty shaken up, but I was in the water again that afternoon. I wasn’t willing to give up my fun because of the fear that I might get pulled out again. My love for the ocean was stronger than my fear. With some things, no matter how hard they are, you have to do them because you know if you don’t, you’ll regret it. I still get worried about rip currents from time to time. Hopefully if I do get caught in one again, I’ll handle it better than when I was 9. I just need to remember that I trust in a God who CAN control the waves, and is looking out for me.

Fear of the unknown. There is so much about the ocean and sea life we don’t know. When you’re in the waves, you can’t predict when a huge one might come. There are jellyfish and crabs that could bother you. I’ve probably made more shark jokes than I’d like to admit, but I’m not going to deny that they are out there. You aren’t guaranteed to be safe. But not everything is out to get you. You take challenges as they come and worrying about things never helps.

You call me out upon the waters. The great unknown, where feet may fail. 

And there I find you in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand. 

The quote above is from the song Oceans by Hillsong United.  It’s a song I seem to always come back to. It’s such a good reminder that sometimes God calls us to places we can’t stand. We don’t have control. We are inevitably going to get tossed around. BUT in those times, we must choose to let our faith stand. Trust in the God who is just as real in the ocean as He is on land.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

he drew me out of deep waters.

-2 Samuel 22:17