Most of my favorite memories as a child involve days spent at the beach. Hilton Head Island was our vacation spot of choice, and it holds a sweet history for our family. My parents were engaged on Hilton Head Island, and as South Carolina natives, the Atlantic Ocean was their first choice as to where to bring us as kids and indoctrinate us in the ways of the water.
While at the beach, I often found myself watching other families riding bikes all over the island with a faint sense of envy, wishing we could do the “cool stuff.” My sister and I didn’t have boogie boards or tons of sand toys. We merely brought ourselves. Looking back, however, I see that we embraced the beach with a sense of simplicity that I cherish to this day. We jumped into the water with reckless abandon, riding the waves and pretending to be surfers. The waves rolled us around so much that each night as I lay in bed, I would still feel as though I were being rocked to and fro by the tides.
As I grew older, I began to realize just how happy I felt at the beach. It felt like I became a different person when I saw the shoreline and smelled the salty ocean air. Long walks on the beach with my headphones playing worship music, or time sitting in a lawn chair with my Bible pages flapping in the ocean breeze, are what I’ve grown to anticipate as life has grown heavier and more complicated.
When I dealt with infertility, the weight of foster care, and financial struggles, the worries and cares of life would begin to melt away whenever I stared out at the vast ocean, contemplating my smallness with regard to the never-ending waters held in the hands of an eternal God.
Contemplating one’s smallness is a great cure for when you’re wondering how all the problems in your life are going to be resolved—it puts things into perspective.
When my husband and I married, we traveled to Aruba on our honeymoon. I was happiest under an umbrella, reading a book for most of the day. Because I am African American, my milk chocolate skin can take hours of unrelenting heat without much consequence, whereas his Norwegian and Welsh roots have gifted him with a complexion that burns in fifteen minutes of direct heat. We’ve come to an agreement—he stays out with me as long as he can and I stay as long as I want and enjoy my happy place.
There are many benefits of walking on the beach and spending time in the sand. Research suggests that time spent in nature with our shoes off reduces inflammation, relieves chronic stress, and helps reduce blood pressure.[1] It’s incredible to think about how God has given us the ability to manage our health through spending time in His creation. Can you believe it?
I traveled to Hilton Head Island with my family at least once a year throughout my childhood and early adult life. Sometimes more than once a year. With dozens of beach trips under my belt, I long to give this gift to my children. Thirty minutes away lies a lake with a sandy beach. There are no scary waves, sharks, or jellyfish. But the effect of the experience is the same. I load the kids up in the minivan and watch them transform when their feet hit the sand. When we go to the park, they tucker out and are whining to go home within an hour or so—if we can make it that long. But when we are at the beach, they never want to leave. They run into the water, splashing, dancing, and finding shells and fish. They build sandcastles and make sand angels.
I’ve watched as my children have grown from being terrified of the wind and waves to fully embracing the ocean’s unpredictability and leaning into its tides with great joy. The first time we took each of our littles to the beach, they were frightened by the loud waves and showed much trepidation about entering the water. But as we’ve gone back and they’ve watched friends swim in the ocean without fear, they’ve become the water babies I hoped they would be.
The Scriptures have much to say about the waves and the waters:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
– Isaiah 43:1b-2a (NIV)
God is with us in the storms of life.
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
– Mark 4:39-41 (NIV)[2]
All things are in His hands.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
– Matthew 14:29b-33 (NIV)
What if the secret to enjoying the life before you is to embrace the ebb and flow of the waters of change that inevitably come your way? What if the path to true happiness is truly found in counting it all joy and believing God will carry you through the waters and waves and that you’re never alone? What if, like a child, you found a way to jump and play and laugh and dance in the shallow waters, not thinking about the scary deep but trusting that if God is with you in the shallow end, He will be with you in the deep end?
I’ve learned that the beauty of life is found in appreciating what is right before you. When I stand in front of the ocean, I’m not expecting or hoping it will be anything different than what it is—a vast expanse of waters being controlled by the hands of a Creator and Sustainer who holds all things together. When I look at the ocean waters of my life, I can do the same. I can embrace the hard, knowing that there is always good to come. I know God works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28), so I can trust that He will bring good to pass in my life, no matter how difficult the circumstances may be.
When I think about the joy available to us through creation, I marvel at the generosity of our Creator. To watch my children embrace the beach and find comfort and merriment at the shoreline is a joy. To share the beach with them is a delight. And to find peace and rest in the arms of a Savior who holds us in the wind and the waves is a precious gift.
[1] Lockett, Eleesha, “Grounding: Can Walking Barefoot on the Earth Heal You?” February 28, 2025.
[2] Note: The New International Version does not capitalize pronouns referring to God; these have been added by Cultivating’s editors.
The featured image, “The View From Here,” is courtesy of Amelia Freidline and is used with her kind permission for Cultivating.
Jessica Mathisen lives just outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and three kids (two through biology and one through adoption). She is a former elementary school teacher and a lover of people. As a writer, speaker, podcaster, and coach, her passion is to communicate God’s love to others through words and relationships. Her most favorite things are hanging with her family, eating chips and salsa, and reading good books. You can learn more about her at www.jessicanmathisen.com, read her latest book, An Overwhelming Hope, listen to her podcast, The Fullness of Joy, and follow her on Instagram.
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