Beaches

I love the water.  Always have, always will.  Walking along the beach is a singular delight – embracing the water as it crashes on the sand.  It tickles my toes in an effervescent sort of way.  The breezes that whip through my hair and the sound of the waves as they wash up on the shore are so symbolic, exquisite, intense and reflective.  Before I moved to California, I’d make sure every trip here included a walk on the beach because that’s where I met God.  I poured out my heart to Him, pleading with Him to find a way for me to live in California.

And in His grace, He moved me here.  For a while, my life’s goal was getting to California.  The trick now is not to get too comfortable sitting on the beach. Our lives are not about sitting comfortably, but taking a risk – a leap of faith. Now I need to search my soul, listen to God and find my life’s next adventure.

There is a tendency when you reach a goal to believe you did it yourself.  My hard work, my time, my goals got me where I am. It is easy to lose sight of the One who blesses you.  My heavenly Father moved me here only in the fullness of the plans He had for me.

I’ve learned since moving here, each season the beach needs to be refreshed.  Debris is removed, kelp and seaweed hauled away and new sand scattered so the shoreline remains pristine and beautiful. That kind of renewal is something we all need.  Otherwise our lives become littered with wreckage, paperwork, phone messages and a pile of dirty laundry with too little God in between.  I remember walking blindly by the shoreline, weary and worn out from asking God to answer my prayers to move here.  Finally, a huge cleansing wave came, tumultuous, powerful and majestic, washing away my old life and catapulting me into a new one.  With it came renewal – God-breathed and holy.

I’m not suggesting you renew your life by moving 2500 miles away.  But I do know in order to experience this major renewal, God brought me to my knees in humble submission over and over again.  It took me years to see the purpose.  I asked the usual questions, “God, why are you moving so slowly?” “What do you want me to do, God?”  “Am I understanding you correctly?”

I still wonder what God wants me to do, but I’ve learned through humility to wait for God to supply the answers.  He carried me through the years back in Illinois, when I deeply desired to embrace the warm sun of California.  Back then, my life was filled with the debris of doubting God, limited faith and ineffective prayers.  But on my knees before His throne, God rinsed away my failings, propelling my heart to accept that when I am in His hands, I have all I need.

Right now, my beach is clean and refreshed with new treasures to be found.  I’m ready and pray fervently, “God bring it! Bring me a passionate dream to fulfill for Your kingdom purposes.” My waiting is easier because I know God will launch me on my next adventure.

My life is before me yet I still stand at the shoreline ready to jump into His waves of grace.

Where in your life do you need renewal?  What shoreline are you walking, fervently awaiting God’s answer to your prayer?

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