I grew up near the ocean, Molly, and just love it ..... hubby and I did a whole lot of courting at the beach ..... in a time when neither of us had any spare nickels, a day at the beach was a good way to spend time together and the only cost was the gas to get there and a Coke or two.
The ocean has so many different moods that it's amazing ..... and I always felt close to God there.
On rare days, the ocean is as still as a pond, with small waves making a soft little plopping sound as they break at the shore line ..... and at other times, when a storm is approaching, the fury and might of the ocean are exhilarating and awe-inspiring as giant waves crest, break far out, form up again and thunder against the pilings of a pier and onto the beach ...... oh, the ocean is magnificent at such times.
Usually it is somewhere between those two extremes .... but I have always found it very soothing and peaceful to sit on the beach and watch the ever-changing waves rolling in .... one after another after another ..... constant and yet always different at the same time ....
We really miss living near the beach though are enjoying being close enough to the mountains that we can be there in little over an hour. They, too, speak of God's majesty ..... but they don't evoke in me the emotions of the ocean .... at least our NC mountains don't ..... the Rockies are a different matter .... they spoke to my soul also .... :-)
I like to sit by the lakes up in Wisconsin early in the morning for the same reason. Calm and peaceful. I never get tired of it.
Only here on our Thread can you wax lovely & lyrical about the ocean....(felt like I was there!)
...and Dog & Miss Marple can follow with posts about the latest scandal or political intrique :)
This place is special, yes :)