‘SENSES OF THE SEA’ No.1
Sadly, I think I have had my last sea swim of the year! I don’t own a wetsuit, so I don’t brave the ocean in the middle of winter. In any case I love the feel of the sea on my skin, and although I am a cold mortal when it comes to coping with freezing air temperatures, I seem to find cold water exhilarating!
So from May until sometimes October, I am keeping my eye, every day, on the weather, the tides and my diary, in the hope of having a swim in the sea.
I am so fortunate to live just 5 minutes walk from the beach, so can often snatch an hour or so to partake in this pleasure.
Of course, it is not just for exercise, that I love to swim in the sea. I go to the pool in the winter for that, but it is to be at one with nature, ( I have seen fish jumping up in front of me, and once came face to face with a seal!) – and in a very real sense, whilst swimming in the sea, I become one with God.
Swimming out, and looking back at the beach and along the coast, and then up into the sky, I can lie on my back and feel the waves supporting me, lifting me, holding me as I know the love of God holds me and supports me and lifts me.
It reminds me of some words of the old hymn –
O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free;
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fulness over me.
Underneath me, all around meIs the current of thy love ………
Of course, the sea can be a dangerous place. My mother, also an avid sea swimmer, always told us as children to ‘never underestimate the power of the sea’. Life too, can be dangerous, and like a lone swimmer in a vast sea, we can often feel frightened , pulled in all directions and buffeted by waves of anxiety and pressure, but we are reminded to ‘never underestimate the power of God’ as we remember words from Psalm 95
‘For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth:
The heights of the mountains are his also,
The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed’
Such a Creator of earth, sky and sea can surely love and care for his children who he also created – and that includes you and me.