When I was a little girl, my family sometimes went to the beach on Lake Michigan.
I remember sitting at the water’s edge, building sandcastles.
Creating something beautiful
These were not the intricate sandcastles requiring plastic molds and carefully placed sticks and stones in pretty designs.
These were the “drip” sandcastles made by scooping up handfuls of wet sand at the water’s edge and letting it drip into tall — and sometimes lopsided — mounds.
Rows upon rows of large and small drip sandcastles were beautiful from my childlike perspective, especially when I’d had a hand in creating them.
It seemed almost magical to see a beautiful creation emerge from something as basic as sand.
Something more than sand was required, however: Water was essential.
Try as I might, I would never be able to create a drip sandcastle out of dry sand.
Sitting at the water’s edge was absolutely necessary for creating something beautiful.
Ocean of love and mercy
So, too, is it true in our spiritual lives: We cannot build anything beautiful out of “dry sand,” out of our own accord.
We require the life-giving water of mercy and love that Our Lord provides from His vast ocean.
Sitting at the water’s edge of Our Lord’s vast ocean of love and mercy, I can ask for His grace to help mold my heart, and He can transform my heart into something beautiful . . . a drip sandcastle close to His merciful heart.
Practically speaking
What does “sitting at the edge of Our Lord’s vast ocean of love and mercy” mean in practical terms?
It means spending time with Him in the Blessed Sacrament, going to Confession regularly, reading the Scriptures, going to Mass as often as possible, receiving Him in the Eucharist, and keeping your soul in a state of grace so that your heart remains open to the graces He showers upon you in the sacraments.
Our Lord’s love and mercy is indeed a vast ocean.
Without it, we cannot create anything beautiful out of the dry sand of our own hearts.
Our own human efforts are useless.
But, with the love and mercy Our Lord’s ocean provides, we have a neverending source of grace to help Him create something beautiful in us.
Staying close
Stay close to the water’s edge then.
Spend time with Our Lord in prayer.
Draw the necessary grace from His sacraments.
Ask Him to help you love Him more.
Ask Him to help you glimpse His vast ocean of love and mercy.
Hopefully, one day in Heaven, we will lose ourselves in it.
But for now, He allows us to stay at the water’s edge and cooperate with Him to create something beautiful out of our own sandy hearts.
Even if somewhat lopsided, if we surrender to Our Lord our hearts, transformed by His grace, they are still beautiful.
Julianne Nornberg, mother of four, works at St. John the Baptist School in Waunakee and the Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison.