I went to the beach yesterday afternoon for my first time in '09. My son and a friend of his and mine went with me and we had a good time with other friends in the sand and surf. As I came off of the parking lot and over the dune to see the beautiful blugreenish ocean with nice little swells I felt relief come over my shoulders, mind, and even my soul. It was good to enjoy the sand, surf and sun. It was relaxing and challenging to walk into the water paddle out and start trying to catch the first wave of '09. For a lurfer (a person learning to surf) the water and waves were nice. Good sets, not to mushy and just the right size for an inside lurfer. As I sat in my chair looking over the vast water and as I floated on my board in the water looking to the horizon while watching for swell to form I could not help but think how big God is and how small I am, yet the big God I worship know my name, my weaknesses, my strengths, my concerns, my joys and my hopes. He knows me. That is good news. He is real, personal, and involved. That brings relief. It also makes me desire to invite others to Him just as I often invite others to the beach.
P.S.
At the end of the day my son and I took a few minutes and shared God's message of hope with our new friend. In doing so we found out that he had accepted Christ a few years ago by some others friends sharing with Him the message of Good News, the Gospel. CooliO.
So glad that you had a relaxing and rejevenating time at the beach! I very much understand what you describe, "I felt relief come over my shoulders, mind and even my soul." That is a feeling that I always experienced when popping over the dunes, but also what I experience when I totally surrender to God.
ReplyDeleteHopefully your new friends will be propelled to take the next steps with Christ!