A few years after we had our twins, a dear friend offered to teach Chris and I how to scuba dive. Living in the middle of the country, a day’s drive from the nearest ocean, it seemed a strange opportunity but we had learned to not kick gift horses in the mouth. Words don’t even begin to describe how that experience changed us and we began planning a grand celebration for our fifteenth wedding anniversary: diving the Great Barrier Reef. We have dear friends who have moved back to Australia, so making the trip held advantages in more ways than one. After years of planning, saving and seeking God for timing, we found ourselves waiting to board the Tusa6 dive boat headed out to the Great Barrier Reef...on Chris’s birthday no less.
Excitement coursed through my body as I suited up and took that giant step off the boat into the ocean. Chris never has any trouble jumping in and heading down, but every time I dive, I panic...just for a minute. (You know it’s not natural to breathe underwater.) Encouraged by my husband, I regained composure and began sinking deep below the surface. Five meters, ten meters, twenty meters. The beautiful expanse of the sea floor unfolded before us like a giant tapestry. We kept an eye on the local guides as blue sea stars, giant clams that I could fit inside, exotic fish and a green sea turtle swam circles around us. For an entire morning we explored ridges and valleys, crevices and coral shelves, yet upon surfacing each time, we found ourselves within earshot of the boat. What we had explored was truly just a drop in the ocean compared to what remained. Drying off on deck during the hour ride back, we saw glimmers of innumerable coral reefs just below the surface. Announcing their presence yet hiding the truth of the beauty and extravagance that lies within.
Our creator God is even more extravagant. Revealing his presence yet containing unimaginable beauty below the surface. A world of adventure that would take innumerable lifetimes to explore. He beckons us to jump in, sink deep and trust him to be our breath as we explore the small drop of our life in the ocean of His plan. He is our ultimate guide, showing how each new turn opens up a world of intricate beauty we could never have found on our own. For half a day, I got to explore one of the seven wonders of the world, but I get to explore the wonders of my God every day for the rest of my lifetime.
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33
Excitement coursed through my body as I suited up and took that giant step off the boat into the ocean. Chris never has any trouble jumping in and heading down, but every time I dive, I panic...just for a minute. (You know it’s not natural to breathe underwater.) Encouraged by my husband, I regained composure and began sinking deep below the surface. Five meters, ten meters, twenty meters. The beautiful expanse of the sea floor unfolded before us like a giant tapestry. We kept an eye on the local guides as blue sea stars, giant clams that I could fit inside, exotic fish and a green sea turtle swam circles around us. For an entire morning we explored ridges and valleys, crevices and coral shelves, yet upon surfacing each time, we found ourselves within earshot of the boat. What we had explored was truly just a drop in the ocean compared to what remained. Drying off on deck during the hour ride back, we saw glimmers of innumerable coral reefs just below the surface. Announcing their presence yet hiding the truth of the beauty and extravagance that lies within.
Our creator God is even more extravagant. Revealing his presence yet containing unimaginable beauty below the surface. A world of adventure that would take innumerable lifetimes to explore. He beckons us to jump in, sink deep and trust him to be our breath as we explore the small drop of our life in the ocean of His plan. He is our ultimate guide, showing how each new turn opens up a world of intricate beauty we could never have found on our own. For half a day, I got to explore one of the seven wonders of the world, but I get to explore the wonders of my God every day for the rest of my lifetime.
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33
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