We recently took a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. It was with my side of the family, and it was SO welcome. Taking three kids to the beach requires many things – the toys, the swim diapers, the snacks, the sunscreen… I felt like a packrat loading up my bag every day! A few times, I found myself looking at young couples on the beach, reading a book under their umbrellas with, not jealousy, but rather, a certain understanding that those days are long gone and also far away into the future all at once. One day, I’ll be like the other couples I saw on the beach reading a book under their umbrellas – you know, the not young ones. But I digress…
One day (you know, not reading a book under my umbrella), my son and oldest daughter had dug a large hole in the sand near where the waves would wash up onto the shore. My husband had helped them get it started and, at one point, they probably had about 6 inches of water in it. But, we all know that the sand rather quickly absorbed all the water from their hole. My son was shocked – “where did all of our water go?!” I explained to him that the sand had absorbed it, so we’d have to wait for waves to gently wash up onto the shore again. Right at that moment, it felt like the tide receded. No waves were coming up within 5 feet of their hole. My children kept looking up at me with faces that pretty much said “is this a joke?” My daughter suggested we simply move the hole closer to the water. My son quickly told her we can’t just do that. I stood there wondering how long we’d have to stand there in the hot sun until the waves filled the hole again.
A few minutes passed and I said, “you know, maybe we should ask God to give us a little bit stronger waves. Maybe he will listen!” I kind of said it half jokingly, but I should know by now that my son especially will take everything I say very literally. Before I knew it, my six-year-old son was not just saying, but SCREAMING, “GOD, STRONGER WAVES PLEASE!!!!” over and over. I started laughing out loud the first time he yelled it. My laughing stopped before he finished asking the second time when I realized that I had potentially set them up for disaster. Maybe the tide was simply receding, and there was nothing to be done about it. Had I just blamed God if their hole wasn’t filled?
The fourth time my son said “GOD, STRONGER WAVES PLEASE!”, sure enough, waves reached their hole. My son started giggling, my daughter said “YES!” and I stood there, wanting to smack myself in the face.
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:31
This Bible verse is literally when Peter sees Jesus walking on water, but becomes frightened by the wind and starts to sink before Jesus reaches out His hand and catches him.
Why did I doubt? Why did I doubt that God could fill the hole with water? My children believed so easily – to the point where my son was SCREAMING on the beach with plenty of people around. My daughter wasn’t surprised one bit when a wave came so quickly. I have thought about this every day since it happened well over a week ago. I know God answers prayers. Time and time again, God has answered my prayers. Of course, sometimes He doesn’t answer my prayers in the manner I want or on my own timeline – we’ve all experienced not getting the outcome, the miracle, or the healing that we ask God for. It’s one of life’s biggest questions – why does God answer some prayers, but not all. I think, however, when we look backwards (whether that’s days, weeks, months, years or a whole lifetime later), we can see how God was working in, through, and around us.
God always wants us to turn to Him in times of need, joy, sorrow, pain, heartache, gratitude, and so on. When we believe in Him, especially with childlike faith, God shows up… and will always fill our holes with water.
