“Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar – the LORD of hosts is his name.” (Jeremiah 31:35)

The ocean sneaks up on the sand, fizzing and playful, hurling droplets into the air. The sunlight tap-dances across the glittering surface, toe and heal on top of waves, leaving behind a wake of sparkling confetti. The laughing water teases the shoreline, tags it, and scurries away.

Tiny sand pipers dash across in search of some invisible treat, like a cluster of moms moving en masse for a Target run. Greedy seagulls bob and weave, squawking and squabbling like siblings fighting over left-overs. Pelicans torpedo toward their unsuspecting meal, nosedive into the sea, and emerge with a dripping pouch packed with fistfuls of squirming fish.

Clouds saunter just above the horizon, white-clad ladies with matching parasols in hand. The breeze encourages them to skip, pirouette, and soar, changing outfits as they sail across the sky. The sun plays peek-a-boo between their puffy fingers and lacey skirts, dazzling one moment, hiding its brilliant face the next. 

Spectacular and routine, crashing loud or whispering gently, these impressive wonders and commonplace scenes should somehow startle us, expand our souls, bring us delight and wonder. This oceanfront view of God’s creation is just one of his loudspeakers to the world. Our Creator longs for us to notice, celebrate, and enjoy it all. 

His other creatures seem to be doing just that!

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind” (Job12:7-10).

Elizabeth A Mitchell

Photo Credit: James Coleman on Unsplash