I love to be near the water. Lakes, rivers, waterfalls, creeks, you name it, even water fountains, and of course the ocean.

I love the gentle lapping of waves on a lake shore. It brings back sweet memories from childhood summers spent visiting my mom’s family in Canada. My Granny’s parents, my great grandparents, had been early pioneers of sorts, literally living in a log cabin with a sod roof at one point in their lives, and establishing themselves along the shoreline of the Okanagan Lake in Summerland, British Columbia. And so, the land they had owned was passed down to my granny and her 2 older brothers, and up until about 15 years ago she and both of her brothers had each had houses along the lake. I can remember everything about that lake. I remember sleeping in my bathing suit, just to wake up early to play in the sand on the shore out back of my great uncle’s home, until my mom awoke at last and came out onto the patio balcony to tell me that I could finally go swimming. The water was clear and blue with grasses growing in the sands below and freshwater clams hiding buried beneath. To this day I can recall the fresh smell of the lake and feel the gentle breeze and the warmth of the sun as I paddled around. It brings back so many happy memories.  I also have many happy memories of the lakes in the Yellow Stone and Teton national parks. Several happy summers were spent fishing and swimming in these lakes as well. When my kids were old enough to remember, I returned to both of these special places with my own little family and added to the sweet memories with several more fishing and swimming trips.

Rivers have also always fascinated me. I love to stand and watch the powerful waters churning and rolling over rocks, then down waterfalls, as they move swiftly along to their ultimate destination. I’ve seen the powerful rivers of Wyoming, Montana, and the Pacific Northwest states, the great Mississippi as it rolls along, the wild Colorado river at the base of the Grand Canyon, and so many others besides. And each time it never ceases to amaze me how magical and mesmerizing the moving water can be.

Creeks are oh so lovely too. Their soft bubbling sound is a source of calm contentment for me. I have lots of childhood memories of sitting on creek beds or on top of little country bridges fishing for crawdads at the end of a dangling self-made line. Eric and I have a favorite place that we frequently like to go and take walks. It has several wild fields, a red barn, old historical houses, horse trails, and a creek meandering along that in its course passes beneath a small bridge next to a horse pasture. This bubbling creek sometimes rises quite high when it rains allot leaving the long embankment grasses pushed horizontally alongside the banks. On hard days especially, I love to just stand alongside the creek and look down at the water bubbling and dancing along. It’s incredibly cathartic.

Then there is the ocean. Living in southern California for almost my entire life, I have a love affair with the Pacific Ocean. If you read a recent blog post called “When the World Turns Upside Down“ or a prior post called, “Treasures from the Sea”, you know just how much I love the Ocean. The ocean can change so much from day to day. One day dark and brooding, windswept, churning, and crashing, the next day bright and blue, with clear glossy waves rolling in, and the next grey and calm, all covered in a blanket of fog. Each day could be a description for our own emotional ups and downs. A mirror for the state we find ourselves in. To me it is a beautiful place of healing.

Abbey once asked me when she was in a particularly chatty mood, “Did Jesus like making the ocean?”.

We were on our way to her school and passing a section of freeway that magnificently overlooks the ocean, so this must’ve sparked the thought. And what a beautiful thought it was. Did Jesus like making the ocean. Yes, I’d absolutely agree that he loved making the oceans.

Our first proof of this fact is that directly after making the oceans or “seas” God gave His stamp of approval. Genesis 1:9,10 says, “God saw that it was good.” Then later in verses 20 and 21 we hear more, “And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures… So, God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems… And God saw that it was good.” It’s clear he not only liked making the oceans, but He had great fun in creating all the creatures that filled the oceans. What a beautiful picture of God as creative creator.

Then of course there are many stories about Jesus and the seas, or lakes, which he had made. Jesus spent almost all of his 3 years of active ministry surrounding the sea of Galilee. And He clearly took great joy in performing the many miracles that he did on that sea. Once He walked on water (John 6), Two times we are told that he helped his apostles, seasoned fishermen, by directing them to caste their nets to fill them full of the fish they so needed (Luke 5, John 21) and even more abundantly beyond all that they could’ve asked or even imagined (Eph 3:20). And then there is the beautiful story of how Jesus heard his apostles frightened cries, and calmed the wind and sea (Luke 8). A miracle which caused them to ask, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

This last story is one of my favorites. Each night I share a bible story with Abbey before bed trying to implant the words of her Jesus into her heart. And whenever we come to this story, I read it like this, “If He can calm the wind and sea then He can calm the storm inside of you and me.” And the beautiful truth is that Jesus can do that and much more. He is a kind and good God with a wonderful sense of humor and compassion for each one of our needs down to the smallest detail. And yes, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that He must’ve liked and even loved making the ocean.