Lessons from the beach.

Growing up in Florida, there’s no denying that I love the beach, as evidenced by the header on my blog, ha!!

It’s truly a place where I feel like I can take all my cares, throw them in the ocean, leave them there, and they’ll get washed away.

It is my happy place.

Exhibit A.

I know you can be anywhere and feel close to God… But for me, there’s no other place I feel closer to him than when I’m standing on the shore looking out at the waves and with the sun beating down on me and just thinking to myself that life can’t get any better than this.

Then eventually you have to come back to reality....

Simply the reality that life is not always a beach.

And when you come back, you might come back having learned a lesson or two.

Over Memorial Weekend, I attempted to surf. Not easy by any stretch of the imagination. And safe to say I probably ended up drinking gallons of salt water in my unsuccessful attempts to get up all the way on the board. I was pounded by the waves more than once.

Don’t let these relatively calms waves fool you..

There are SO many times in life when we’re just trying to get up on the board but it seems one wave or another keeps knocking us down.

I must have spent almost an hour in my attempts at surfing. I did not give up. Eventually by the end I was able to get up on my knees. I was okay with that, because I know eventually, with enough practice and perseverance I’ll be able to stand all the way up. Bethany Hamilton I am not but I can see why she’s called the soul surfer. She did NOT give up!! She had soul. That’s what I want. I want to put my whole soul into everything I do in life, and know that’s what will get me through when those waves come crashing over me.

I also attempted paddle surfing for the first time. Now doesn’t this look calm and serene? (I’m going to pretend I’m not about to show you a picture in my bathing suit, ha).

This is all about balance. It’s crazy. You have to stand just so in the middle of the board or it’s very easy to find yourself in the water. I’ve really been seeking God for balance in my life. It’s easy to let things become askew and your priorities become wacky. But when you tend to veer off track, I guess that’s why God gives you the oars, to get you back on course and restore balance, and you just pray you won’t fall in the water.