For the sheer joy

Watching the seagulls come up from behind a point of land, they revelled in skimming the wild ocean waves; those churning frothing crests that were pounding against the shore.  My heart was racing with those free-spirited gulls.  Trying to capture their image in mid-flight, I got caught up in their swoops and twirls.  They seemed to be doing it for the sheer joy of it all. 

So graceful, so full of grace; it made me marvel at the grace of my God.  As the whipping winds took my breath away, this grace of God left me even more breathless.  To think of it: He is supremely delighted in me.  In the midst of all the crashing waves of life, even the waves brought about by my own wrong choices, God loves me for the sheer joy that it brings to His heart.   I needed this reminder; this breath-taking glimpse of His glorious grace, for today and on into eternity.   

“But because of His great love for us,

 God who is rich in mercy

made us alive with Christ 

even when we were dead in transgressions -

it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4,5).

I recall an old saint who would often pray: 

“Oh God, I am swimming out into your oceans of grace.”  

Indeed.