Tide Pools

I am not sure how many of you have spent a week in a house with 13 other people before, but I just want to let you know it is mostly a blessing. There are moments when the noise is incredibly overwhelming (5 boys and 2 toddler girls) and escape is necessary. It can be hard to have any type of quiet time unless you create your own. I did just that this morning. I had sat down to write a couple of times during the week and not much was accomplished. It was just too hard to  stay on task. 

This morning I opted to take a walk on the beach by myself. I had hopes of settling some of the things I wanted to write and maybe create a plan or at least some sort of outline. I set off down the beach with my inspirational music pumping through my ears. I started thinking about the subjects I wanted to write about but then it all changed. Instead of just walking down the beach, lost in my own head and oblivious to what was around me, I started to really look around. 

It was that time in the morning where the tide was just starting to come back in and there was a lot of room on the shore to walk. There were men and women getting in their morning runs, dogs crashing through the waves, and little children just sitting in tide pools having the time of their life. I started to really see my surroundings. 

I really noticed the tide pools and was amazed at their formation. I did not have my fancy camera with me but did take several pictures with my phone. I noticed all the intricate ways the paths in the sand formed to fill these areas. They seemed to be roads created just to fill the areas of low sand. The lines were essentially precise and purposeful. The water in these pools was cool and perfectly clear. 

It is easy to see God in the big things, such as thunderstorms, rainbows, the ocean, trees, mountains, and just amazing sunny days. I think sometimes when I focus on the big things that I miss all the little things that are just as powerful. I have included some of the photos I took today. I was mesmerized by the shape of the sand and the formations created by waves just obeying the rules of tides. I almost missed them. I was so busy walking while struggling to  finding the right words about a different subject I almost missed the power and wonder in front of me. I have been to the ocean several times in my life and I have never really looked at the tide pools. I have played in them and watched my kids do the same. I never really looked at how neat they really are. 

At low tide I walked the beach again, stopping in the same places I had this morning. The same tide pools were there but there were some differences in pattern and width of path. It occurred to me nothing can encounter something powerful and come out the same every time. Each time the tide comes in and out, the tide pools change. The patterns change. The path into them changes. Same with me. 

I can encounter something powerful, positive or negative, and I will be changed, even if just a little at a time. A year and a half ago I started group therapy. I developed strong, healthy friendships. My marriage has become stronger. Most surprising to me was I encountered the healing power of Jesus in the midst of it. I began to see the good things in my life and the positive changes in the healing process. Now when something overwhelming crashes around me I have faith that if I stand there, strong in Jesus, it will pull back and I will be just fine. The pattern of my life will change and the path will be different, but it will be beautiful because it will be orchestrated by God.