The ocean brings a peace. It has a reassurance about it that can calm my spirit. One minute, the water is glistening and still, but the next the waves are crashing down upon you and the stormy winds can wildly move the water. The ocean has many emotions and it allows time and room for all of them. Regardless if the ocean looks inviting or if it is raging up a storm, I fall in love with its beauty every time. The ocean displays a freedom I can connect with and by the ocean I feel understood.
For awhile now, I have been discontent with my life for no apparent reason and just restless. I haven’t felt great most days but yet I’m not ill. The past week, I’ve realized I may not be physically sick but lately I have definitely been spiritually sick. My life has been a whirlwind the past couple months and I have failed to take the time to remain still. This week I have focused on being still and reworking my heart to desire the benefits of doing little. I needed time to reconnect with my God that I have been brushing aside when He should be taking the precedence in my life over all.
The ocean has always spoken to me about its ways but always for many different reasons. It’s waves caused by the wind can crash and destroy which is often times representative of my life. In the storms of life, I have felt comfort from the ocean knowing that something understands the conflict that happens inside me. It may sound silly that I seek this from something in nature, but if it is a characteristic displayed in nature: God understands. He created the ocean and it just another reassurance that He has made my heart known to Him.
While the storms the ocean displays are the characteristic that makes me feel the most known, the truth I most need to learn from the ocean is how to be still. The ocean perfectly displays the calm after the storm. After the craziness of life hits, I need to do what I should have been doing the whole time: taking time to rest in the presence of my God. I have a habit of making myself as busy as I possibly can so I never have to think about what is truly going on inside my heart. I know that if I stop then I will be able to see the darkness inside me. This reality scares me and so I rarely let my life go quiet where I could hear what is being said within me.
However if I want the storms to not destroy me, I need to be rooted in my faith and prioritize living life the way I have been called to. When I watch as the waves subside and the ocean becomes still, my heart comes to a rest and I am content and happy. I am learning to follow after the ocean in its way of stillness. Taking time to refocus my goals and rework my life starting with my heart needs to be of great importance to me. Because only when I become still, do I take the time to see how God is working through the storm.
When I become still, I can see a purpose in the hurt and in the waves. I can recognize where I went wrong and allow God to redirect my heart on the correct path for my life. My heart becomes soft again and isn’t in defense mode because I can have peace. The stillness causes me to stop and focus on what is important instead of getting caught up in minor details that seem much bigger than they truly are. So I will continue to learn about allowing God to fight my battles while I remain still and therefore growing in my ability to not allow the winds of life to create major waves that destroy.
With freedom and grace,
Olivia Mars
LiveGrace 