After a long season of school and work, our family celebrated a sweet fulfillment: Gideon graduated from both high school and community college, earning an Associate of Science degree. Yay! We celebrated by taking Gideon to Hawaii, where we stayed with a dear friend in Kauai.

A hurricane had blown near the island the week before we arrived, leaving the waves rough. Nonetheless, the warmth of sun and water invited us to swim at various spots,  but we discovered our favorite at Lydgate—a lagoon created in the ’60s  by a family who loved to swim there with their kids. They wanted it safe, so they built a retaining wall out of boulders to separate the rough waves from the swimming area for their children. We felt that legacy in the calm water, the way it welcomed us in.

Just beyond the lagoon, the ocean raged. I watched the massive waves crash against the distant rocks—tempest-tossed and angry—but inside, it was calm. Everyone swam, unphased. Tropical fish flitted around us with happy curiosity. Even our ten-year-old, Caleb, swam without a care.

I couldn’t stop watching the spray of white and the barrier that enclosed us. The waves roared, but they couldn’t touch us. The power was undeniable, but its reach was restrained.

My mind raced. That’s what Jesus is to us. Our barrier from sin’s curse. Our shield from the wrath of God that we deserve. I will not paint Jesus as the good guy and God as the bad guy. No. That would misrepresent God. Let’s be more accurate:

• God wanted relationship with us
• but we wanted to pursue our desires more than Him and His ways
• God leaves the 99 sheep to go search for the one that’s lost
• God is like the family who drew up the plan for the lagoon and worked tirelessly until they had funds, permits, and crews to build a boulder wall for safety
• He created a plan to have all the just wrath that our sins deserve cast against the rock of Jesus
• His plan to save is for everybody!

Our misplaced affections. Our reckless passions. Our unprecedented neglect. Everything in us that did not measure up—all of it poured out on Jesus—at the cross, in our place. I can’t fully comprehend what that one act accomplished for us. Not really. But that day in Kauai, a visual settled deep in my spirit.

I watched people soak in the gentle waves, laughing, floating, unbothered. Just beyond the lagoon, the ocean crashed wild and angry. But inside the barrier there was peace. The waves could rage, but they couldn’t touch us.

It struck me: This is grace. The full force of judgment held back. The power still present, but its reach restrained—because Jesus stood in the gap.

(Gideon, friend Sharon, Caleb, Melinda, David, and Bethany)

We live in a season of grace. A time when mercy holds back what justice demands. There is a time behind us and before us where people have felt the wrath of God in part. At the end of time people will experience it full force, unless the barrier of Jesus’ work on the cross stands between them and the punishment our sins have earned. Let’s draw near our peace-making God and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Our time in Hawaii drew special memories I will forever treasure: a hike to the Nepali coast, watching 80 turtles crawl up on the south shore, and lots of time together.

Wherever you are, may the peace of God surround you. May each day be filled with His love and grace.

For the Generation that seeks Him,

Melinda Poling