I find water relaxing. I enjoy being at the beach and listening to the sound of the waves. Over the weekend I went to the beach to go whale watching. As I sat there on the boat, a poem started to unravel in my mind. I see the waves as water crashing into each other and forming this beautiful new creation. It was 40 degrees outside. I sat on this boat laughing like a little girl as the waves hit the boat and covered me in water. I had so much fun. Unfortunately, about 40 minutes into the boat ride my stomach started feeling the turbulence of the waves. Regardless of the sea sickness, I was still having fun. I was able to see whales. I enjoyed the beauty of earth God created.

In the midst of all this, I felt PEACE. I felt extreme peace and joy. All of a sudden, a song I learned as a child came to my mind: I've got peace like a river in my soul. I started comparing the river waters to the ocean waters. I've never experienced motion sickness on the boat while cruising down a river. The river doesn't have any turbulent waves that toss people. The river doesn't crash into the land in the same way the ocean does. But the ocean offers peace too. I find a lot of peace just listening to the ocean water. I found great joy watching the dolphins, and the whales. I found beauty in a snow covered beach. I felt peace!

Do you know how life can present turbulent waves? Have you ever been so stressed out that your stomach was nauseated? Has life ever been cold to you while troubles continued to rain over you? Even in the midst of all this turbulence, you can still find peace. Although the song suggest peace like a river, I think I have peace like an ocean. God is ever present in my life. God has performed miracle after miracle for me. I found peace in the turbulent ocean waves. Peace has more than one descriptor. Peace has more than one appearance. Peace can be found anywhere.