Prior to adulthood, the only time I visited the ocean was a cold, windy day that was cut short by rain. Long into my life as a wife and mother, I thought I wasn’t really a beach person. I’ve been on a couple of cruises, but that’s not really the same as sitting on the sand next to the shore where waves are rolling in and rolling out. The mountains have always been more my thing because of the calm it brings me. To sit in the midst of mountains is another level of living in my body. Even to go to the grocery store with the mountains peaking out feels different somehow.

A few years ago Mr. Butler went to a conference in Florida two years in a row. The first year we tagged along and spent a week at Disney since none of our kids had ever been. The second year we did Legoland, Medieval Times and spent a couple of days at the beach. There was something life changing about sitting in the sand, feeling the rhythm of the planet reset me. My daughter felt it too. Are you noticing a pattern? Nature, in its purest and most iconic forms, has an effect on me. Since I live in Oklahoma there aren’t mountains or oceans nearby, but we moved to our current home to live among the trees. And it’s my absolute favorite thing.

A few weeks ago, we had the chance to tag along with Mr. Butler again to the Destin area of Florida and stay right on the beach. Our trip coincided with the full moon and I experienced the ocean as nothing short of fury. The power - without even putting my feet in - was overwhelming. This time I didn’t feel peace or reset like I had before. This time I felt seen, if that makes sense. I guess I identified with the intensity and force it seemed to be stirring up. When you spend years of absorbing and downplaying your own reality, it comes barreling out eventually and its not quiet. Like the talkative child you force into silence for too long, years of hushed life explode everywhere.

I always feel closer to God and nourished in my spirit when I spend time in nature, even if its a little green patch in the middle of a busy city. This visit to the ocean put into perspective a beautiful picture of God that is so much more than one thing. We hear a lot about the different emotions God feels - anger, jealousy, compassion, etc. - but staring at the ocean, I better understood how nature displays His nature. The ocean is powerful, diligent, rhythmic, cyclical, not a force you want to go up against, but definitely the source you want on your side. Mountains are stable, firm, supportive, and calming to my spirit in the way the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit guides.

We have lost a few trees on our property since we moved in and this weekend we planted three new ones. These trees were from a local farm and all a couple of years old. When we went to pull the bag/material off that it had been planted in, the real work began. The roots on the oak tree had started to grow through the material and there was no pulling that would separate them. We had to cut the material, unfortunately cut some of the roots and then pull with all our might to get it loose. The young roots were so strong that my very strong 6’2, 285lb husband couldn’t just manhandle and separate. Trees take a beating in the wind and rain, but usually withstand it mightily. Their roots run far and deep, gathering nutrients to survive. And the life-giving oxygen! They literally sustain life in the most basic way. I see the nature of God in every tree that towers over me. He nourishes from depths I never see and helps me withstand storms that would kill me on my own.

The reflection of God in our natural world seems never-ending, naturally. Yet, we don’t see it most of the time. Our time and energy is often spent on things that take us further away from Him rather than bringing us closer. Standing in front of the ocean, listening to the deafening power it possesses, I couldn’t deny God. I couldn’t deny His presence there. A visit to the ocean was all it took to experience this verse in real time.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10