Our sunset on the final night of vaca in AMI. Ahhhh.
I LOVE the beach!
The other day I was returning from observing The Most Incredible Artist paint the sky. While walking barefoot the sand, I could hear people laughing, children performing for family and friends, and still see God’s handiwork brush the sky with and ever-changing scene. I couldn’t help but have a peaceful smile on my face.
When I’m at the beach with family and friends, there are always many laughs. People-watching is always a fun and curious past time. Well, maybe a little scary and puzzling at times too. (Yikes! What are some people thinking???)
There have been many insightful conversations, with laughter and with tears, with friends while at the beach.
Ecclesiastes 3:4a comes to my mind now, “There is a time to cryand a time to laugh.” Yep, lots of tears of joy and sorrow have occurred while having my toes in the water and tush in the sand.
As much as I enjoy chatting it up and lying around with friends, I get my most reflection time when I’m alone. I get the largest part of time with God while sitting on or walking the beach alone. Some pretty perceptive thoughts and ideas occur when I’m doing this. Hey, I’m not alone in this thinking. We read in Matthew 4:18a, “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee” that some awesome things happen while walking on the beach. Jesus called His first disciples when doing this activity.
You may not live near a beach, but hopefully you have a place where you can both gather with friends and be alone and enjoy insightful conversations and have reflective thoughts. It may be the woods, mountains, neighborhood, the lake, riding on a tractor in a wide open field, or even the busy sidewalks of a metropolis area. Wherever “that place” may be, I hope you always discover something new about yourself, grow closer to God, and be able to walk away with a smile on your face.
Think about these verse when you have your quiet moments: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
I pray God’s abundant love and blessings for y’all.