I hear God at the ocean.
Particularly, the ocean of California's Central Coast. More particularly, the shores of Pismo Beach and Cambria on the ocean of California's Central Coast. But that may be my own bias.
I hear God at the ocean in the sound of the tide.
I perch atop a rock and listen. I make up that the rhythmic sound I hear in the ebb and flow of the tide is the sound of God's breathing: inhale, exhale.
I hear God at the ocean: ebb and flow, inhale and exhale.
The meter of the tide represents a distinctive dichotomy of God's strength: his sovereign power and reassuring goodness--a strength that is at once formidable and calming. The rhythmic sound provides the prompt and the tempo for the familiar refrain of a beloved hymn. A hymn expressive of God's power and goodness amongst his creation:
This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears all nature sings,
And round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father's world,
The birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white,
Declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world,
He shines in all that's fair; in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.
This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!
I'm at home in Louisiana. I'm one thousand, eight hundred, fifty-eight miles from Pismo Beach. Give or take a few miles. But I sit quietly in the pre-dawn darkness of my living room. I breathe deeply. Inhale and exhale. Ebb and flow.
I hear the ocean. I hear God at the ocean. Regardless of where I am.
Where do you hear--or otherwise sense--God, as I hear him in the ocean?
What physical "structure," as I have in breathing, is available to take you to that place, regardless of where you are?
How might you employ this structure to "center," to "ground," you in God's presence, here and now?
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