There is really only one O: Ocean. I am thankful for the ocean. To me there is no better manifestation of God’s power and majesty than a crashing sea. I could watch waves tumbling over one another for hours. The sea has always inspired fear and awe. Even the psalmist wrote of the terror the ocean could inspire in sailors, from which only God could rescue them:
Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
T
hey saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the seas were hushed.
They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
One of my favorite hymns speaks of the ocean in a kinder way. “Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade: To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky.”
I love that.
Oh—there is one other O I am thankful for.
Oreos.