Hope Without Limits

You have to be intentional.  At least that’s my experience when it comes to taking a vacation.  You make the choice to turn away from all the demands of everyday living and put yourself into a position to relax and soak in beauty and refreshment.  You decide the rest of life can wait and you’ll be better prepared to handle it for having made this intentional choice  to seek out and to become saturated with love, beauty, fun, joy, and whatever it is that refreshes you.

As each day passed on my recent vacation time seemed to slow down to the point I didn’t know or care what day it was.  The moment and whatever it held was all that mattered.  After that first morning sunrise and tuning in to the roar of God’s love that He revealed to me in the tidal waves it was like my tuning fork and compass had been reset.  I was continually reminded and aware of that tidal roar and the love of which it spoke.  That in itself was a source of renewal, but then rather than just listening and being mesmerized by the roar, I dove in.

Well actually – I didn’t dive in, I gingerly waded in to the ocean itself beckoned by my husband and his friend to come in and join the fun they were having in the waves.  Never done that before … swam in the ocean that is.  I grew up on the great lakes and spent hours swimming in those, but there are no “critters” in the great lakes that will sting or eat you; the water is clear so you can see the bottom; and it is fresh (not salt) water so you have to work to stay afloat.

There it was again, that oh so subtle choice of fear of the “critters” and who knew what else in the sand churned water or freedom.  Again, I have to thank the little girl in me who didn’t want to be left behind.  Oh how lost I would be without her, she so loves to have fun!

If you have ever played in the waves, you know there is nothing quite like it.  Some you see coming, some you don’t.  They crash over you and you feel the effervescence on your skin, being totally engulfed by something so strong and yet so soft; and in the ocean if you will just let yourself go … you float, totally supported by the salt water.  Every sense I had was impacted sight, sound, touch, taste, smell saturated.  And where was this happening, in the midst of the roar of God’s love.  Ding! Ding! Ding!  Take this in, remember this and allow it to become part of who I am.

I can stand on the edge appreciating the roar of His love, being drawn by it to stay close or I can wade in and play in the waves of His love.  I can immerse myself and have every sense that I have saturated by Him and if I so choose just relax, let myself go, and float in His love without effort on my part.  And you now what, it doesn’t stop there.  Once you’ve tried it, you can’t get enough.  We went back and played every day. Sometimes the power of the waves felt almost overwhelming as they hit me and pulled and tugged at my feet – but that too reminded me that God’s love is not some pious, safe, tidy thing.  It’s huge, powerful, more than I can take in and it changes the way I walk, move and have my being.  It’s constant, but it is always changing because there are so many facets to it.  Not only does it impact me it impacts everything around me.

Just like the ocean created the beauty of the shoreline and the dunes;

it created the beautiful breezes; it deposited gifts like this beautiful sand dollar which was still very much alive and only visible for a couple of moments;

and created sunsets that closed the day with a sweet kiss that held the promise of more tomorrow.

Each experience saturated my senses more and more and more with the awareness of God’s love, His beauty, His presence and how all of that renews and refreshes me.

Why did this happen; because I was intentional about turning away from everyday life and its distractions.

My choice is to continue to be intentional each day.  Intentionally tune-in to my Heavenly Father, the roar of His love, to play in it; let myself be immersed in it; float in it; have it change the way I walk and have my being and from that vantage point have the eyes to see how it impacts every facet of my world.

Your choice?