The ocean looks different, I don’t know why I expected it to look the same but it doesn’t. The water is a different color of blue here, the waves move differently, more forward than up and down. In Nicaragua there was river water, dark and mysterious in the canyon that we swam in, shaded by the high cliffs. In Costa Rica the waves were harsh and saltwater was persistent to try and invade our worlds. The waves crashed against the calm waters, reminding us that even the most beautiful things of this world hold danger to us as invaders. It tossed us through the underwater world and we had to hold our breathes as to not become lost within it. And the waters here, they’re calm. They move slowly and from a distance. Where some places are too rocky to even get close enough to feel, these waters are smooth. This calmness feels so alien in this world that we’re living in. One that tells you to be afraid, where news reports tell you that you’re surely going to die if you leave your house or your state or your country. But I feel so distant from this anxiety. Have we forgotten the past? Trouble has always come our way. I can see that the waves in other worlds are different, scarier, harsh, unforgiving, loud and fear-giving. I can see it. But can you see the waters of my world? Why does this existence feel like a one-way mirror and all people seem to see is how their reflection is moving? There is another world behind yours. This irregularity makes me frustrated, like I’m trying to control something I never had the right to control. Maybe I am, maybe we all are. All I know is that the calm waters are here, not left in the past or hoped for in the future, they are here right now! I can feel them! While the distant terror tries to find me, I’m out here running. Not running away but running towards! “Do not be afraid”, 365 times it was necessary for the reminder. God has promised to keep us safe, so we are safe. These calm waters are not an oxymoron. God has placed a peace here for us to find, if we look.
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day
Psalm 46:1-5
Despite worldly chaos, we will not fear. I will continue to try and live out this Psalm as obstacles to the journey come and go because there will be more and I’m praying for this peace in your lives. At my hometown of Danvers, Illinois, at my second home in Lexington, Kentucky, with my parents in Tennessee and with the rest of the world. This is my heart for today, thank you for listening!
