I have always been comforted by the sounds of the world around me; the cadence of creation. The first time I saw the Baltic Sea I was reminded so much of the Carolina beaches and felt at home in the smell of salt and sweet grass. As my friends took pictures and talked about one thing or another, I stood in the surf with my eyes closed and listened. I thought to myself that this was the oldest sound in creation, the sound of the waves breaking as the met the gritty shore, the ebb and flow of the ceaseless tide, and the wind shifting the sand. This is the sound that has been heard by people since the dawn of time and I was getting to be included in that. I was sharing that experience with countless people and my world got smaller. As I stood there, I prayed and thanked God for the sound of the sea and how beautiful and pleasing it all was to me. I began to tell Him how excited I was to be here and to meet these new people when I realized that the oldest sound was not the waves crashing but His voice.
A few months ago I began to be very insecure in the fact that I didn’t hear God’s voice, or at least not in a way that I understood. It hurt me to hear these stories from friends back home and then squad mates of having God tell them things because I had none to share. I wanted desperately to hear from the Lord in a way that I could understand. I was seeking His voice to the point of frustration and often with tear filled eyes ran to my squad mates with the ever sounding “why?” They would always say the same thing, “He does speak to you, ask Him to reveal how.” I was going crazy. I felt such desire to hear from Him. I felt like a neglected sibling who watched the parent dote on the favorite child instead of me. I felt forgotten. The cool thing was that God sent people to pull me out of my pity party and love me well until I could accept His love and words. In the six months I have learned many things and walked through more brokenness and forgiveness than I thought possible. Now I wait on the Lord and His words and I hear them. Sometimes, they are soft like the wind through the sand and sea grass, and sometimes they are blatant and crashing like the waves on the shore, but always they are loving and tender; between friends.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
