Sand Dollar Testimony (written 7/15/2011)

Praise God!!!

As I sit on the white sandy beach feeling the wind through my hair and the rays of sun on my skin when the clouds break from their dense communion, I ponder on the verse, “my soul is consumed with longing.”(Ps 119:20) I gaze out over the vast ocean and see an endless sky and long to be just that: “consumed with longing.”

       Thinking on my Christian walk, I question if I have actually ever “longed” for God much less been consumed with that longing. I push my feet deeper into the sand to feel the coolness on my feet as I watch the waves crash faithfully on the shore. It is settings such as these that make me yearn for more of Him. I ask myself, “How can anyone not believe in a God who created this?”

Looking up I see a wave runner go by in the distance and fondly remember the great adventures and blessings of yesterday.  I remember how God stayed the rains to unfold a beautifully fulfilled afternoon of ocean exploration. I have heard many ask, “How can a God of mercy and love condemn people to an eternity in Hell?” That question was clearly answered to me yesterday. Tammy, Teri, and I took wave runners out into the choppy seas and experienced things we had never experienced before. Tammy had never driven a wave runner, especially in the ocean. Some of the ride was spent airborne as we jumped high rolling waves one after the other. (Did I mention I was a passenger and holding on for dear life?) We followed our guide to an area frequented by dolphins. Amazing creatures! Teri jumped right in and swam with them. What a blessing!  Our last destination was off the shore of Shell Island where we swam in search of sand dollars. Talk about amazing! To be surrounded by the most wonderful people AND to get to experience God’s awesome fifth day creations was a phenomenal encounter.

       Can you really look at something such as a hermit crab or sand dollar and not see a creative God; A unique and truly amazing God? I examined the fine hair-like features on the sand dollar and the intricate pattern formed on its back. To consider that God took the time to mold this creature into its own distinctive existence confirms to me that I mean even more to Him. I am so much more important to Him that I am God-breathed and made in His image.

  I gaze out at the crashing waves and I notice a seagull staring out into the immense nothing too and wonder if it sees God in all that is before it. Would a seagull recognize God better than all these people who surround me, including myself? Oh how we miss so much!

       We sit and proclaim how beautiful the water is and how lovely the sand feels beneath our feet yet we forget the God who created each grain of sand and who controls each crash of the ocean’s waves. We are simply content to sit and sun and read without even a mere acknowledgment of the God whose presence so obviously surrounds us.

       So I don’t think the question, “How could a loving and merciful God condemn someone to an eternity in Hell” is correct. The question should be, “How could a God-breathed, intelligent and loved people not praise Him for the daily reminders of Him that surround them?”