To Know the Love of Christ

Part 2 As I sat there, I thought of those who carry burdens greater than my own. What about circumstances that cannot be lightened in the least by a day at the ocean? What about when the trial seems to last forever? When the temporary catharsis of pent up tears is so short-lived that it feels pointless? The waves keep coming, crashing in stronger, heavier, darker than before. Indescribable grief remains. Oppressive, breath-sucking, energy-snatching, hunger-squelching, joy-stealing grief. Physical and emotional pain that is relentless. Searing loss. The weight of a burden that has been and still is far too great to bear. What then? Still, creation speaks. Still, His faithfulness remains. Even when there is no relief from our circumstances, like the relief that washed over me today as I finally was able to sit on a blanket in the sand, pen in hand, scribbling away my praise to the One Who is worthy, surrounded by the reassuring sounds of the sea, the afternoon sun burning the sand f...

I stood in the ocean today, surrounded by God’s magnificent watery created splendor, whispers of His invisible attributes splashing around me in the waves, and the joy and gratitude floated up and out of me in the words of a favorite hymn. O love of God, so rich and pure! So measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure, The saints’ and angels’ song. The waves pushed and pulled past me toward the shore, tumbling over and under each other, folding themselves perfectly into His symphony, of which I stood witnessing only the tiniest corner, when you consider the breadth of the ocean and the continents between and the miles and miles of shoreline on this planet. There I was, occupying a little tiny speck of His vast creation, where my feet were planted on that one square foot of underwater sand in Ponce Inlet by Orange City, Florida, not far from Daytona. I couldn’t have stopped that old hymn from pouring out if I’d tried. It came as my heart’s simple cry of th...