Touching the Ocean Floor
KELSEY CHADWICK
Lee en español
“You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.” Psalm 89:9 (NIV)
Editor’s Note: Through Proverbs 31 Ministries, Kelsey Chadwick (1990-2025) met her future book publisher in September 2024. After signing a contract, she turned in a lovely manuscript the next spring. With Leafwood Publishers, she worked through all the early editing and selected a cover for her book. Then, in fall 2025, Kelsey suffered a major medical event while speaking at a 4-H group. She passed away from complications, joining her heavenly Father but leaving her husband and two preteen daughters.
Proverbs 31 proudly offers this tribute to Kelsey, who wrote early each morning from her farmhouse window. We hope her words, adapted from the introduction of her book, Where Else Could I Go?, gently remind you that God offers us more than we can imagine if we will trust Him and treasure His revelation.
The lure of the cool ocean called to us on a hot day at the beach — the sand scorching our feet and the white-hot sun blinding our eyes. With waves up to my hips, feet in the sand, I clutched my 6-year-old’s life jacket, but the jolt of each new wave knocked us to our knees in the shallow surf, pushing us into jagged shells and rocks. It was miserable.
I shouted that the water was much more enjoyable farther out, but my daughter squealed in resistance. I understood her need to see her feet and to touch the bottom, but it was precisely here that the waves were most formidable.
Finally, mustering my strength and holding the top loop of her life jacket, I forged out into the ocean, moving deeper into the navy sea. I didn’t look back as I swam us further away from the shore, my daughter holding on to me tightly.
After what seemed like an eternity, we reached a still place where only I could touch the ocean floor between waves. Her little legs wrapped around me, and with each wave, I jumped just enough to stay afloat and ride it out. We were deep enough that the water buoyed us up together, defying gravity.
No falling down in the surf. No pointed shells or rocks. No thrashing against the waves. No water in our eyes or noses. Just the two of us floating together — our bodies cool with only our faces above the water.
She looked around, and her tense body began to relax in my arms. A smile spread across her face, and she sighed with relief. She laughed at herself and the waves playfully lapping at her life jacket.
She could not touch the bottom, but I could.
She did not understand the ways of the sea, but I did.
She was full of hesitancy, but I was full of a parent’s love.
The ocean did not change. Waves still came. But we were positioned to ride them together.
The psalmist tells us this about God: “You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them” (Psalm 89:9). But we may need to move to a different position in the water. When we have the courage to move further from our familiar shore, we may find greater stillness.
My daughter had resisted me all the way to calm waters. Her attempts to control what she did not comprehend made everything unnecessarily hard. She was minutes from returning to the shade of the umbrella and refusing ever to get in the ocean again.
When I pulled her deeper, she didn’t understand. But she finally trusted. The next time we headed beyond where she could touch, she didn’t fight it. She jumped into my arms.
As I took her out to the chest-deep water, I thought about how often God has dragged me out further than I wanted to go, and I went kicking and screaming. What limits had I tried to place on Him? Had my frantic grasping for knowledge, comfort, and control made things that were originally meant for joy painful? How often had I panicked because I couldn’t touch the bottom?
Looking toward the shore, I imagined myself sitting safely but sourly under an umbrella, suffering under the sun, pouting because God insisted I surrender to the depths of an ocean I could not understand.
Maybe I had misunderstood Him all along.
Father, thank You for Kelsey’s teaching and courageous life. Help me to trust You when my life is full of doubts and doesn’t make sense. Please comfort Kelsey’s family in this time of deep distress, and open my heart to You, the One who calls us to deeper waters. Through Jesus, our only Savior, we pray. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS
God isn’t disappointed with our questions, even the hard ones. In her book, Where Else Could I Go?, Kelsey Chadwick guides us to trust God’s boundaries, treasure His revelation, and build a trusting community to deal with doubt, uncertainty, and questions of faith. Learn to see your questions with fresh eyes as we look at them together in the light of God's Word. Get your copy here.
ENGAGE
If you’ve read and enjoyed Kelsey’s book, Where Else Could I Go?, please consider posting a review on Amazon.
FOR DEEPER STUDY
Read Luke 5:1-11.
After fishing all night and catching nothing, Simon Peter was washing his nets when Jesus said, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4, NIV). In that decisive moment, Peter listened to Jesus, and his life was never the same again.
What routine activities have you been doing today? How might God be calling you out into deeper water? Share with us in the comments!
© 2026 by Kelsey Chadwick. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
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