The Beach

My post is a few days later than usual. My week went quickly and to be honest, I didn't have a strong sense what I was to write. So rather than rush it and it be my words, I chose to wait. As the weekend came to a close, I had a clearer picture of what to write. I hope these words are encouraging and causing you to want to reach out to our Savior and spend some time with him, even if you aren't close to a beach. It is also more of a picture post this week.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the beach! Not as much as some, but love it, I do. I wouldn't need to live by the beach, I would miss the green grass, flowers and woods too much, but when I have the opportunity to go, I am glad for the chance. I usually put the car window down as we approach, because I love the smell of the sweet salt air. I love the sound of the sea gulls flying overhead. I am always excited to arrive and when the time to go, comes, well my heart is sad to leave.

This past weekend, my husband and I were able to go to Ocean City, MD and Assateague Island. It is still winter and to be blunt, I was concerned that the beach would simply be too cold to enjoy. I couldn't have been more wrong. I wore warm clothes and had my best friend by my side. We had the opportunity to talk uninterrupted and thankfully he gets my love for photography and so we stopped many times. I am going to include the pictures from the weekend. As you look through them, enjoy them. Know that summer is coming, winter can't and won't last forever. But there are a few other items I want to have you ponder. The same things I pondered as I walked and as I thought of all of you.

The waves remind me that God is constantly by my side. The waves keep crashing on the shore, no matter the time of day or season of the year. They were commanded by God when He created them to do that and they haven't stopped. They are constantly in motion. Next, the sand. It sometimes is marked from all the activity that happened from the day. Some are deep holes. Some are the many footprints of those who passed by. But as the tide comes in at night, it wipes all activity clean, as if it never happened. Kind of like our Heavenly Father who wipes my sins away, if confessed. To him, it is as if it never happened. A clean fresh start. The other thing about the sand, it gets everywhere! Try as I may to shake it all from my shoes, it was still there. I even went barefoot, to avoid the sand in my shoes! I was reminded of the oyster. It only takes a small grain of sand to get caught and it will work to build layers around that one grain to keep the rest of itself protected. Eventually it will produce a pearl. Do we sometimes have things in our lives that we have asked God to remove. Have we cried and begged Him to remove them, only to have them remain? Maybe God is making a pearl out of that situation. One day, that "bit of sand" will produce something beautiful in your life. You will be a different person because of what you have to deal with. I was reminded that Jesus chose some of his disciples at the beach. They were fishermen and he called them off their boats and nets to follow him. As I walked, I saw boats. Our Savior walked the beaches while here on earth. A lot of the landscape looked dead and dry. But if you looked closely, life was there. Just like our lives can look hopeless, there is still life there. We can't be consumed by the situations in life around us. We need to see where there is life and let it grow! There are many many more comparisons I could make, but I think you get the idea. I wanted to list just a few.

The final thought that I had was this, in scripture we are told there won't be oceans in heaven.(Revelation 21:1) I have struggled with this every time I read it. How can God not have oceans in Heaven? I love them. There is so much beauty in them. I am reminded of Him so much when I visit them. The sound of the waves crashing are so peaceful. They calm my anxious spirit. The sand between my toes feels so soft and comfortable. The breeze of sweet salt air makes me relax. The sun shining on my face is the most relaxing feeling in the world. How can that not be in Heaven? I was reminded this weekend as I walked back to the car, "You don't need to be reminded of me in Heaven, I will be with you always". You see, I will not need a memory of him, I will have him! I also felt that small voice remind me, " Sue, you have NO IDEA what I have planned for you. The earth was for you and my children for a time, but your heavenly home will be for eternity. You can't put into words what I have planned, so you need to trust me that it is better than anything you have seen or heard on this earth." As always, my heart was filled with awe. We try so hard to picture it because some how that makes us have to trust less and feel more ready. Who knows, there maybe an ocean in the new heaven, but it will be nothing like the one I have come to love. It will be a trillion times better. I keep coming back to this thought, if He put this much creativity into a planet He will destroy, what could Heaven possibly be like that will never be destroyed! I have my one way ticket ready, do you? It is one way you know...because once there, you would NEVER want to come back!