Received in late October 2023 and first written up at the start of November 2023. Part 7 was split into two parts later due to the relative length of the parts.
Part 1
It is before sunrise, when the light from the false dawn creates the line on the horizon that separates the the last remnant of the night sky from the waters below.
But as this dawn begins to break, the light is subdued with shifting tones of grey permeating and blanketing the rays of light from striking with their full force.
A thick sea of clouds hovers over the water as far as can be seen, with sheets of rain falling in the distance subduing the normal sunrise and leaving muted tones of light seeping through the sky.
Part 2
I stand on the beach facing the waters as the light rises across the ocean. I feel the grit of the wet sand on the sole of my feet and in between my toes. I am standing well away from the waves that crash against the beach and wash up on the shore in an endless display of power and their relentless nature. The recent rain still leaving it’s legacy in the freshness of the air and the grittiness of the sand… The sand feeling a long way from the soft and powdery warmth that can be felt after the depth of the suns rays have drained and dried it out. Instead I can feel the coarseness of the grains, weightier and harder, still held together by the soaking of the rain.
Part 3
My gaze is pulled towards the origin of the sound that continues to dominate everything around me… The waves crashing down against the beach and pushing up towards me.
These are not the idyllic waves pictured under the warmth of the summer sun, but waves pushed with the power of the recent storm, the wind and rain increasing their intensity as they relentlessly batter against the rocks and sand of the coastline.
Out further the water is dark grey blue, capped with rivers of white as the waves shape and form. But here, close to where I stand they are a constant wash of greys and whites as one wave breaks on top of another, shaking the waters and the ground. I can feel the tremors and the vibrations of the waves through my feet and coursing through my body along with the wind that lashes against me.
Part 4
I feel a pull deep inside my body. Something pulling on my heart with such force and strength… calling me out… beckoning me… A pull with such longing it leaves my heart aching, a hole that cannot be filled if I remain where I am. A call to the waters. A desire has been awakened inside me, a yearning with such intensity for the deep waters that my body begins to tremble. I need to move. I cannot remain where I am…
Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of movement and my head is immediately pulled to see what it is.
For the first time I realise I am not alone on this beach. There are not many but there are others just like me, standing and staring into the waters, feeling the pull to the deep. Knowing that to remain where they are would be to reject the call, to reject the caller and reject who they are meant to be.
Part 5
I see some begin to move, heading towards the waves. I feel a sense of belonging with the others that I can see that only increase in intensity with those that are nearer to me, that we are connected by the pull on our hearts and souls. The desire for the deep waters has now grown to include those around me, to be in the deep together. To move in unison within the water, to be pulled and immersed in its flow.
I suddenly feel water rushing against my feet and realise that I had already started moving, the longing unable to be contained. What I had already acknowledged inside of me, had shifted to movement to pursue it. It cannot be denied. I realised that this is not a casual swim or a dipping of toes in calm waters, this is a call to the deep, to pursue and surrender to the power and strength of the waters…
Do I trust it? Knowing that I cannot control the waves, that I will be out of my depth, entirely trusting in the one that called me, how do I respond?
I realise that there is only one answer that makes sense to me. I must say yes, at any cost.
Part 6
With my yes comes a resolve and a strength that was not there before. Somehow my desire for the deep has increased, like a wellspring inside of me bubbling up and overflowing.
Somehow my body has become more alive with this decision and my movements become quicker, almost running into the waves, yearning to get beyond the breakers and out into the deeper waters, where I can no longer feel the sand beneath my feet, where I cannot stand by myself but have to trust the one who calls me.
I look beside me and see a familiar face also caught with the yearning for deeper water. Our eyes connect briefly to spur each other on and then we are diving into the waters…
Part 7
I feel the power in the water as the wave washes over me, passing overhead as I swim for a moment fully immersed under the water. I coast for a moment taking in the fullness of ocean, feeling the different pull of the current, the wash of the breakers overhead. The power of the water is overwhelming but instead of feeling panic, I feel safe. There is no fear. I feel the love of the one who has called me and the strength He has given me and I feel a overwhelming sense of peace and trust within me. He has me. He has the ones beside me. He will never leave me nor forsake me.
I look up and break the surface of the waters and begin to swim. I look and see the familiar face of the one closest to me also breaking the surface and beginning to swim. And now I notice for the first time that there is a glow on their face and a light in their eyes. It’s not coming from the light around us, it is something that has been ignited deep within them. I sense within my spirit that it came with the yes and the decision to trust fully when we were immersed… With a spark of joy within me I look back towards the horizon and swim.
Part 8
As I look up into the sky I see what looks like an arrow of light pierce through the clouds from where we left on the beach and headed straight into the sun. It leaves a corridor of light and open sky between the clouds and a rainbow trail that cascades down as prisms of light caressing the waters.
We now have a path to follow out into the deep. I take a deep breath from the rainbow light that has stretched down to touch me and as it fills my lungs I feel a wave of strength and joy fill my body. The joy cannot be contained and as I swim following the beam of light laughter bursts from me. Somehow even in the stormy waves and being tossed by the power of the ocean, I hear the laughter of others nearby and I know that I am safe.
I’m calling you to deeper waters. To soar above the waves!
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
(Psalm 42:7)
