Diving into the Depths

One of my favorite reasons why I love being at Beyond Malibu is the opportunity to people watch. Not the kind of people watching you would do at Disneyland or at the mall at Christmas time, but the opportunity to watch people grow. This summer I was placed in a community of believers in all different areas of their walk with Christ. Paige Kantor, one of the amazing Pack Shack ladies, is one of those people I have been blessed to see grow in her walk with the Lord as she experiences Him in the inlet this summer.

The following is a reflection of my time here at basecamp: 

God’s love for us is deep; trying to understand it is like trying to dive down into the depths of the Princess Louisa inlet that leads to basecamp. I deeply desire to dive into the water, touch the bottom, and come back up with a rock, proving that the bottom is there and that I have the ability to grasp its depth. On the way down my ears begin to hurt; the pressures of the water makes me feel like my brain might explode. Eventually, I’ll run out of air. When I come up with the prized rock, I won’t be afraid to show it off. The people close to me will see the proof that I had the courage to dive down deep enough to find treasure, which is just a small glimpse of what the bottom actually looks like. This treasure is a flash of the miles and miles of ocean floor on this planet, yet we are easily impressed with a single stone.

In the same way, the vastness of God’s love for us is incomprehensible. His love stretches on for eternity and beyond what is imaginable. I cannot fathom the depth of it, yet I will continue to dive down in hopes of catching a small glimpse of this Love. And after reaching the bottom I may even be able to share the treasure of His love with a few others.

    

I won’t be at Beyond forever, but God’s love surrounds me everywhere I go. I am reminded of it as I look into the trees and the mountains, which seem to go on forever. The waterfalls that rush down the mountains in a peaceful consistent rhythm are reminiscent of God’s constant love for us. The birds exemplify how God provides the wind we need to carry us and the branches we need to find rest on. I enjoy how the sunshine beams down warming our spirits and how the seals bask in creation. The bioluminescence is yet another indication of God’s indescribable creativity and that He surprises us with gifts we don’t deserve. I only have a few days left in the Princess Louisa inlet, but a lifetime of exploring God’s creation. Thanks be to The Lord, my Father in Heaven, for reminding me that I am loved deeply and that if I trust Him, He will bring me to places of peace and reflection. He brings me to places, like Beyond, that I never imagined to exist. Beyond Malibu is a small glimpse of God’s love for me, a small treasure I will carry with me forever. It has felt like a flash of time in which I’ve experienced the depths of His love and the fluid movements of His Holy Spirit. In the end, I hope to have the chance to share this experience with a few others, to describe what it has been like to live in God’s presence. Maybe they too will be eager to experience it themselves, and will desire to dive deep into the wonder of God and the beautiful creation He has placed us in.

Paige Kantor