"Fanciful. Impractical. Dominated by idealism. A desire for adventure. Chivalry. Characterized by preoccupation with love. Displaying or expressing love or strong affection."
From what started as plans to have a girls night on this particular Friday, God surprised us and drew us near. After excitedly getting together and devouring a delicious meal of In-n-Out (complete with burger, fries, and a milkshake) we go and buy 6 pints of ice cream and return to Chapman to bake brownies. Then, we snuggle close and share our stories and watch Despicable Me.
On a whim, we decide to visit Huntington beach after we hear that there were NEON WAVES. "Bioluminescent" waves. My friend Nicole claims it is one of the coolest things she's ever seen...so precious that she was afraid that she would never see them again. So she pounces at the chance to go.
At first, these waves are simply exciting and unique. But when we get to the edge of the water, they are awe-inspiring. They're romantic...like a beautiful view to soak in on a date. The kind that you can watch for hours on end. As we examine the coastline, we wait for the waves to crash a glowing green-blue. The ocean is dark, and blends with the clear, starry night sky. We have no idea where one ends and the other begins, but it doesn't matter. The whole scene is vast and infinite. Immeasurable. Mysterious. Within the darkness, there are facts and stories and life that we don't know...yet we can trust that it's beautiful. Sure, it's biological. It's science. But it's God's biology. It sure isn't a coincidence that nature could make glowing waves...or that nature can fill our sky with a specific arrangement of stars...or that nature said, "Okay, since the girls are coming tonight, I'm going to do this for them."
We stand at the edge of the water, scanning the view and anticipating the next set of waves. They don't simply rise and crash. The waves expand. They rush and stretch and fly, as if God is simply tracing His finger through the darkness and leaving behind a trail of magic. They come out of nowhere. Out of nothingness. We point our toes and rake them through the wet sand as a trail of light follows us then disappears. The color and nature of the glow reminds me of life within an object...like a candle in a lantern or God's spirit in the bush that spoke to Moses.
We remind each other that this is God meeting us. That God created every drop of water and orchestrated the nature of every wave that crashes. We remind each other that this is God, fighting to meet with us. This is a romantic, affectionate gift from a CRAZY, IMPRACTICAL GOD. Who else in their right minds would bless us in abundance when we doubt and neglect him? Who else would meet with us? Who else would fight against everything in this world to be with us? Who else would fervently push and nudge and fight just for a moment of our attention? Who else values being with us as much as He does?
I realize that with all these talks and hypocrisy and laziness and apathy, WE are the impractical ones. How can we respond back to God with anything but gratefulness and a passionate desire to know Him back and explore more of THIS?
I wasn't going to get my feet wet, but I decide that I can't leave without saying, "Hi" back. It blows my mind that the powerful, deep, thick, glowing waves that we see in the distance come all the way to our feet in a tender meeting. The water calmly rushes around my ankles and under my feet, shifting the sand and getting between my toes. It's chilly and wakes me right up. It excites me. It smells and feels like life. The water comes and goes, but comes again. The waves we see roar and shout, but the pool that surrounds us is silent and hushed.
Our God is off in the distance. He's around the whole world...in every nook and cranny...showing off His power and love to people everywhere. But He's also fully with us. Near. Personal. Intentional.
Awake. Exciting. Surprising. Showoff. Display. Maker. Here. There. Safe. Refuge. Awe. Excitement. Unpredictable. Immeasurable. Vast. New Life. Unchanging. Personal. Music. Breath. Faithfulness. Grace. Purpose. Time. Affection. Gifts. Sights and sounds. Silence. Retreat. Alone. Together.
Romantic.
