Seeing God at the OBX

Sounds of the surf. Soft ocean sand. Wild horses. Magnolia and Live Oak trees. Southern Accents. Vacation.

God gave my family and me a special gift last week, seeing His handiwork at the Outer Banks, N.C., which are barrier islands off our Atlantic Coast. What a blessing. What a way to see God in a fresh way.

I have always understood God made this world, and everything in it. I know it. I believe it, and I feel passionate about the topic. But seeing God as Creator with this change in geography bolstered that understanding.

On these islands, the sand dunes shift and change in the ocean winds and storms, so the appearance and topography adjust themselves through the years, visibly through decades and less, not just through centuries or millennia.

I know God made Jockey’s Ridge, a three-peak dune reaching 80 to 100 feet at its highest. It claims the spot as the largest dune on the Atlantic Coast, and broadens my perspective about my Lord’s creativity.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 NIV

The Atlantic Ocean, Albemarle Sound and other waterways show me the refreshment and the power in God’s creativity. The sound of the ocean is matchless. The peaceful appearance of the coastal waterways on a sunny day in the Outer Banks captivates me.

I also consider the life within the ocean, the sounds and on the shores. God’s hand made crabs, jellyfish, octopi, dolphins, fish, ospreys, and mustangs. Carefully protected, wild mustangs thrive here.

With my children, I raced the tides to scoop patterned black, gray, white, or tan shells from the sand. What a joy, even on the day the water was chilly because of the upswell, another way God made the world to work. Wind directions move deeper, colder ocean water to the top, making water play a truly cool experience.

When I think about the Outer Banks, I also remember the trees. I love the twists and turns in live oak branches. The curling petals of the four-inch wide, white blooms on the magnolia trees contrast the flowering crabapples and beloved lilac bushes my eye appreciates at home.

How can I put on a finger on God’s creativity, with Him making animals and plants out of nothing? How can I grasp His wisdom and intelligence, when He developed the tides and ocean currents? Praise Him that I cannot.

*This is the first of three in a series of blog posts showing how I experienced God during our family vacation to North Carolina’s Outer Banks in June.