Making Waves

Mikayla hanging out at Rosemary Beach.

   My wife Heather, Mikayla, and I were fortunate to vacation in Rosemary Beach, Florida this past weekend.  It was nice to have a little getaway, and some time to recharge the batteries.  We are more mountain than beach people, but the beach is very relaxing and a nice distraction from everyday life.  The final morning before we left the beach I stuck my toes in the sand at the edge of the water, and just stood there for a few moments.  I watched the vast ocean in front of me, and listened to the sound of the waves as they crashed in and the flowed out.  I let a sense of peace wash over me, as I pondered what God had brought into my life over the past year.  What things did he bring onto the shores of my life from the vast ocean?  What joys and what challenges?  I think sometimes we get caught up in the waves in our lives when they are crashing, but don't always take the time to step back and take a look at the big picture of the ocean.  Yes, we have faced some challenges this year but when I look into my daughter's eyes she has also brought me a new sense of purpose and has allowed me not to take things for granted.  How could you not just love that little munchkin with her sunglasses on?
    This was a great reminder for me as we drove back that afternoon, and Heather's car engine died in Clanton, Alabama.  In the past, I think Heather and I would have really been stressed about the whole thing, but we see life with a different lens now.  Mikayla's challenges have become our own.  We learned when our house was flooded in 2010, that things can and will be replaced but the love we have for each other is what gets us through those times when the waves crash on our shores.  Take some time to find your beach this year, and I promise you won't regret it.