Trust. 8/25/09

Once again, I hit the beach and God shows up!

As my daughter and I were walking the beach [slowly for now - lol], we noticed something in the surf at the first sand bar. At closer inspection, we realized there was what we thought a whale stuck in the sand bar just getting hit by wave after wave after wave, barely able to recover from the first to the next. Obviously laboring, we watched, anxiously waiting for this beautiful creature to break free.

As we inched closer and closer, we realized it was not one, not two, but three whales [or we think it may have been manatees because I don't think we have belugas here]! They were huddled close as if hanging on together through this crazy, chaotic storm. It seemed they were tired, waiting even, for it to end and find the calmness of the ocean deep. We sat and watched as the current moved them northward rather than the opportunity to head back out. All the while, these three held on to one another that I swear there was, at no point, release or separation.

Of course, we called the Coast Guard and walked parallel to the never-ending wave breaks, feeling helpless to assist. Suddenly, with a great burst of energy, they seemed to break free and together, still hanging on as a group, they swam into the break line. We walked another quarter of a mile to ensure the strong current did not carry them back in to shore. I believe they made it through and back into the vast ocean.

As we watched and the sun gave way to the moon, we tried to spot them, to somehow be comforted in knowing that they, together, conquered what probably seemed to them a great storm. In that moment, I saw clearly what I had been asking God about from the moment I stepped onto the beach.

I even realized the point we tried to get across to the kids this week at children's church. The basic gist being that when you love God, you do things for others....love one another basically...serve others, not just yourself...hang on tight to your family and friends - those that WILL work together to get through and back to where you are supposed to be...where you belong.

We can weather storms on our own in this lifetime and we may be okay and make it through. But when we weather the storms with God, with family, with friends, it is alot easier to bear. Just like those three whales [or manatees...lol], hang on tight - do NOT let go, as those waves crash and those storms hit, reserve your energy and gather your strength. Then, when you see that break - that light shining through, go for it and swim like there's no tomorrow because there is a vast ocean out there...blessings you cannot even imagine.

Sometimes we get stuck, sometimes wave after wave keeps knocking us down, and sometimes we come very close to hitting that shoreline that sucks the life out of you but...those storms, those crashing waves trying to overtake you and wash you BACK to the shoreline...that is an opportunity for God to work...to align your life in such a way that no storm, no wave, no sandbar can affect your ability to break free and find what the ocean of life has to offer. :-)