Wrightsville Beach, Shell Island Resort, December 27, 2009

 

Ron and I took a walk on the beach this afternoon. The sun was shining and even though it was 48° it wasn't warm to me. I wore my jacket with a hood lined in fur. Yes, I did get some looks as if I came from the tropics and this was very cold to me. In the ocean you could see men dressed in wet suits trying to catch a wave as they rode their surf boards. The waves were not huge by any stretch of the imagination but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were using paddles as they stood on their boards; something I have not seen before.

 

The beach is so white that it looks like the dessert or in some places as snow. The seagulls swim close to the green water in a line as if they are surfing the waves too. Off in the distance the water is blue and you can barely tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins. The white clouds fill the sky and look like cotton candy …it is absolutely beautiful. We were able to walk on an area of the sound where there is normally water but for some reason the water had receded and made designs in the sand. I know people probably wondered why I was taking pictures of the sand, but nature has a way of making the most intricate designs that man can only imitate.

 

When the ocean waters covered the sand, I looked at that as being the most beautiful sight. Sand is pretty but it doesn't compare to the water. But then when the water was taken away, it is like God says, "look under the cover and see that beauty is also there. Beauty is not just on the surface but under the surface. Maybe even more so.

God convicts even through movies!

Life sure is happening all around me. Loved ones going through difficult times and yet growing into in their compassion and love for others. Isn't that how it works? We think we want absolutely no suffering in our lives but it is through our suffering we see the truth about the life here on earth. The Lord did not say we would not suffer but He said He would be with us as we suffered.

Last night Ron and I saw the movie, "Blind Side" , and it was awesome! I tried to hold back the tears because there was only one other couple in the theatre. Two couples, one white, one black, in this big room. The story line is a white upper class couple takes in a young black man who has never had his own bed and helps him get an education and football scholarship but most importantly they give him love. It's amazing what love, genuine love, can do for a child. Love as a verb; an action that produces fruit.

I say I love my children and grandchildren. Do my actions, say that also? I love my husband. Do I put his needs and their needs before my own? In the story about Michael Oar (a true story) his mother loved him, but she was unable or unwilling to give up her drugs and show him how much she loved him.

Do we as parents understand just how much we change the lives of our children if we withhold affection? Little girls need their dads to be active in their lives just like little boys do. Even if their parents are divorced, children need to have both parents active in their lives. You don't feel like a princess if the King in your life makes you feel like a peasant. That is why it is so crucial to tell young ladies that the real King, Jesus, has made them princesses.

If part of your holiday tradition is going to the movies...like ours is...don't miss Blind Side. Very rarely do I purchase a movie, but this is one that I would not only buy, but one that I would watch over and over and show it to my grandchildren.

We can make a difference in the lives of others. I can make a difference....if I weren't so selfish. That is why I wanted to cry at the end. What do I do to help others? There are so many hurting. I guess it is to help one person at a time. As the song goes..each one reaching one.