Living in Hawai'i has brought me to a new relationship with the ocean. I didn't grow up with much of a fascination with the ocean, and really just had a fear of deep, dark waters. The ocean on the Washington and Oregon coast is painfully cold and the beaches are generally cloudy and windy. I don't stand well against those elements.
While I do still fear really deep, dark waters, after spending so much time in the ocean I definitely have much more respect for it than plain ol' fear. I don't fear it simply out of ignorance, but out of recognition for the power behind every inch of it. I'm not only conscious of my water consumption because someone told me to be, but because it's my back yard (and technically my front, and side yards too). I don't take for granted that it hasn't swallowed me up or that there's so much of it we're only specs it its eye. There's life in it and throughout it.
This mindset reminds of having a relationship with God. The ocean is not a god, nor do I believe in "ocean gods" but I do know that God created the ocean. And while the ocean is a large creation, God is an even larger creator. We might fear Him when we don't know Him or understand Him, but once we experience His mercies and love, we gain new respect for God. He's not a tyrant, angry and controlling in the sky; He's a wise, sacrificial, forgiving Father.
We may be smaller than even a spec in His eye, but we are the apple of it.
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