Monday, April 10

Resting in the Arms of the Father

I really must say that no other place makes my spirit soar than the beach. Standing in front of the vast sea, you cannot help but be amazed by the greatness of the God we serve and the fact that he loves even me.

The last month has been long...2 weeks of various sicknesses followed by 2 weeks of life craziness: 6 days with 12 middle school students from Japan, 4 long nights and 2 weekends at the office, a 3AM trip to the airport, 2 RTS tests, a great orientation at PIONEERS, and 1 rock concert later...plus meeting lots of fun new people in between...I'm pooped.

THANK GOODNESS we get grace sufficient for each moment and strength for each new day. This Gospel-thing never ceases to amaze me.

Last Saturday morning, I was up early for a date with Ezekiel and Daniel, then rushed out to RTS to take my test on them, then rushed over to the other side of town to conquer my GRE. I'm not sure if conquer is the right word - but it's done, anyway. So at 8pm I decided that it was time for a real break at the beach. I called Lauri and we were on the road by 11.

About 10 minutes after we pulled into the driveway, a wild thunderstorm blew through New Smyrna Beach. I even love those. We sat in the living room with the sliding glass door open and watched the lightning jazz up the ocean view until it was raining too hard to enjoy it anymore. With the window open, I fell asleep listening to the thunder and the waves.

Sunday was a little bit cold and quite a bit windy, but I so enjoyed just resting with my Father. I need some more of that -- quieting my mind, resting my body, and refreshing my soul in the presence of my King. What are you recommendations for doing so? Do you have any particular suggestions? My friend Sarah just posted some ideas on her blog at www.sarahkees.blogspot.com. Feel free to pass some on.

I was challenged by a friend today to really let my heart explore how much I am loved by God and secure in Him. Sure, saying that is easy. But I imagine it will take a lifetime to really know it. No matter what I do, God is crazy about me.

Don't you just LOVE that??

1 comment:

Fleminator said...

A retreat to the mountains is good for solitude ...while the beach is a good place for reflection when the weather is bad, I find that there can be more distractions at the beach. Becky, its easier for me to recognize God's presence in the sense you are talking about when no one else is around and I am in the middle of nowhere. Plenty of "middle of nowheres" out here. However, experiencing nature (esspecially weather) anywhere is helpful.