My God Made Me This Ocean

Today I remembered that I had written this post several months ago. So I went to find it…

We went to the beach a few weeks ago. I’d forgotten how terrifying waves are to a small child. The awe of something so powerful makes a toddler shake from head to toe.

It brought me back to a memory from years ago, same problem…small child, incredibly large ocean.

I remembered when Josh was three. It was a particularly windy day, and we were out enjoying the wild waves. Josh was horrified of being so close to the imminent danger of the ocean, but he also couldn’t stay away.

So he stood with his back to the waves.

High up on the sand.

My wave watching was interrupted by his little voice shrieking to be heard over the roar of the ocean.

I turned to see him terrified. Shaking all over.

He yelled to me…

“Mom! MY GOD MADE ME THIS OCEAN”

Then he paused.

“MY GOD MAAADE IT FOR ME.”

More shaking. More turning around to see the horrific waves.

A minute later he had more to say:

“AND HE MADE IT FOR YOU TOO!”

I still get teary whenever I remember that little boy shaking by the great ocean that his God made.

“…how ready we are to conclude that children cannot be expected to understand spiritual things. Our own grasp of the things of the Spirit is all too lax, and how can we expect that the child’s feeble intelligence can apprehend the highest mysteries of our being? But here we are altogether wrong. It is with the advance of years that a materialistic temper settles upon us. But the children live in the light of the morning-land.”

 

-Charlotte Mason