Bethie At Home

One late afternoon while I was working on my masters and interning at an inner-city middle school, I went out running. Running or walking outdoors always clears my head, gives me an opportunity to hear God, and helps me process my thoughts in a healthy way. While I ran, I wrestled with the hurt and hardships of life, particularly those in my students’ lives. I don’t recall the details of the long hard day, but I clearly recall asking God, “If good is stronger than evil, why does it look like evil is constantly winning?” Instantly, I was reminded of Miami.

The Miami Beaches are in trouble. The sea reportedly erodes the Miami shoreline 14 to 25 feet each year! The local and federal governments spend millions of dollars every year on replenishing the sand in order to protect the people, the city structures, and the tourism. The problems associated with this issue are political, environmental, and personal for anyone or anything connected to the Miami area.

I first came across this information in an Environmental Studies class during my undergraduate work. Initially it struck me as an interesting fact, something to tell people during a conversation lull, or maybe an attention grabber for teaching Earth Science to 8^th graders. Little did I realize the life lesson this battle between Nature and Humankind could offer.

As the images of truckloads of sand dumping on the Florida coastline filled my head, the Holy Spirit impressed a question on my heart: Over time who will win, the ocean or the people dumping sand?

I answered, “The ocean!”

The response astounded me: The ocean is like My Love—constant, enduring, continually eroding the sands of evil from the world, no matter what grand efforts the enemy makes. The enemy is frantic and failing. He has no lasting power. And like the sands of Miami, he will not stand the test of time or My Love.

I am often in awe of this picture the Lord gave me, now over 13 years ago. I have been asking Him lately what it looks like to walk in power, the kind of power He promised with his Holy Spirit. The answer is to walk in His constant love, to watch with Him as the sands of evil erode and all that is left are the deep oceans of His enduring love.

The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea. Psalm 93:4