2022 Beach Lesson

So after years of hearing from the Lord when I’m at the beach (just click the “Beach Lessons” category for evidence!), I don’t always hear “new” things, but sometimes I hear old things in a new way. This year that happened. I heard something I know, but with a fresh visual.

It came to me in a variety of ways: through a couple of books I was reading, and by watching the shoreline. Life has had lots of twists and turns this year, mostly unexpected ones. Some painful. Some just a nuisance. But even as I’ve waited for resolution and healing, I’ve known that God was in control and had a plan.

But the theme that came to me while on our beach trip this year was this (and if this is close to a direct quote, I’m sorry I cannot tell you where I got it!): Just like the tide reshapes the coastline every single time it ebbs and flows, so our lives are reshaped by every thing that washes over it.

The thing is, that is by God’s design! Now, I know that we will grow as disciples until we die, and that we will NOT get it all right this side of heaven and until we see Jesus face to face, but this was just such a vivid visual for me, especially since I absolutely love the beach, and love just watching and listening to the waves.

Sometimes, like gentle waves, life is gentle with few surprises.

Other times, like huge waves crash into the shore, life crashes into our lives and we feel overwhelmed.

Either way, the sand changes just as we change in all of life’s experiences.

Many times, I don’t want any more change! And even if I wanted the waves to stop rushing to the shore, I have absolutely no power to stop them. That, too, is by God’s design. He is the creator and sustainer of every person, every living thing on earth, and every breath that is breathed.

He is always working to shape and reshape us into the image of His Son Jesus, to live selflessly on earth as He lived, to love unconditionally as He loves, to obey His Word more quickly and completely. As author Joan Anderson said, “We are as unfinished as the shoreline upon this beach.”

The constancy of the ever flowing tide is a beautiful reminder He keeps washing over us again and again, and each time we are reshaped. I needed, and love, that reminder! And the reminder to keep studying scripture and seeking to grow in my walk with Christ, every single day, with every single wave.

I want to close with a quote I love and have shared before.

Banner photo by yang wewe on Unsplash