Categories: uncategorized
Date: 05 May 2005 18:28:53
On Tuesday evening I was sitting at Caswell bay after a night walk from Three Cliffs with the Hiking Club. I wandered away from the group, who were happily charring sausages on a BBQ, and headed down towards the sea, remembering a thought I had about a year ago, which I wanted to share. I couldn't blog it at the time, but I think Alice blogged on my behalf. I hope she will forgive me for repeating.
One of the things I love about Swansea is the sea. I miss it when I'm away. By my third year in Swansea I had developed a habit of going to see the sea as soon as I could when I came back. Last year, after a few weeks away, I went down to the sea one evening, and looking out into the darkness, this came to me.
The sea, stretching out into the distance, felt like how I imagine God to be. The huge vastness, of the ocean never fails to amaze me, and make me feel small. I am always in awe of the great power of this apparently never-ending expanse of water, which shapes rocks, creates and removes land masses, and could destroy human and animal life in a second. However, at the same time, the ocean is a symbol of calm. It is here that I go when I feel down, when troubles are overwhelming, my refuge from the world. It is constant, reliable, never-changing. No matter what, I can always go to it when I need to.
A great and powerful force which can create and destroy just as easily, but also a refuge when life is hard, an ever-present resting place, which never changes, no matter what we do. I am growing used to the presence of the sea, but every now and then, I remember it is there, and go and visit it, and I am rewarded with the calming feeling I always find. It is, I hope, this way with God also. I must remember to pay him a visit too.