Catching the Last Rays of Summer on the Pacific

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Knowing the advent of autumn could easily usher in turbulent weather and cloudy skies, my husband, daughter, and I decided to seize the moment and head to the beach for one more outing a weekend ago.  The forecast called for sprinkles, but when we arrived, the sun was out, the wind was warm, and we walked in shirt sleeves along the Oregon coast.

Oregon beaches are not California beaches. The water often beckons from beyond rugged and sometimes impossible terrain.  State parks and waysides have been carved out of the landscape, affording day travelers like us many opportunities to stop, gaze and wonder.

There’s something about the ocean that stirs reverence in me.  Maybe the massive expanse of the water is what makes it so overwhelming. Perhaps it is the fresh ocean air.  Maybe it’s the feeling I get when I am here that I am but a tiny little speck in God’s very big world.  Whatever it is, I love visiting the coast and soaking in all it has to offer.

I am reminded of a scripture I have referenced before, but it bears repeating.

 Psalm 107:23-25: “Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep.  For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea.”

In Psalm 104:24-25 the psalmist writes: “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom You have made them all.  The earth is full of Your possessions—This great and wide sea. In which are innumerable teeming things. Living things both small and great.”

I could not have said it better.