Farewell to the Beach...

It was 6:00 a.m. and I stood by the huge windows of our bedroom. As I’ve done every morning during the last week, I stared at the immensity of the ocean right in front of us, contemplating the playful dance of the waves and the wind, and hearing the gentle rustle of their interaction which had lulled me to sleep for the last seven days. The sting of melancholy rushed to my soul and stayed in my lungs as I held my breath not to let out a painful sigh when I saw a handful of people in their leisure morning walks on the wet sand. Nothing weighing heavy on their shoulders, painful things left behind to be dealt with another time, the morning walkers let their legs carelessly take them wherever it seemed the most pleasant, no detailed plans laid out in their mental agendas, except for the one goal, to relax and enjoy their stay to the fullest. I know because for the last 6 mornings that had been me, out there, seeking the same goal.

Today, however, it was time to wake up, pack the rented car and say good bye…

Not looking forward to the 12-hour-long road trip back home, we pulled out of the beach house that had now added ours to its list of endless memories of those who have rented it over the years. If its walls could talk, what would they say?

I bet they would say things like, “wow, these crowd was really loud!” or “yep, it never ceases to amaze us how much junk food teenagers can consume” or “when are visitors going to learn to use the outside showers properly?!” But I hope they’d also comment on how a group comprised of 14 people of all kinds of different ages could come together to have semi-delirious and crazy fun playing several rounds of the game “Tabu” ending it with a victory “discussion” that wrapped up with most of the participants standing on chairs and tables, some of them thinking there was a giant wave coming towards them, which turned out to be an unmentionable bug that a brave pair crushed with a flip-flop. (This very confusing sentence is nothing but a poor reflection of the real-life confusion of that night!)

The shared meals, the birthday celebrations, the teasing, the shopping, the activities, the lazy naps on the sand, the sunburned faces, even the occasional arguments all now form part of a collection of unforgettable summer memories that will stay with me as part of the first time ever that I spent a week at the beach with the family. 

It was a true gift, a gift that doesn’t come around often, which makes it all the more precious. It was a gift that showed me, once again, how magnificent our Great God is. It was a gift that displayed God’s love reflected in the beauty of His creation and on the perfection of His Provision. It was a gift that gave me the opportunity to see Him ever since the moment my eyes saw the beauty of the ocean and my feet felt the warmth of the sand. 

He definitively showed up at the beach to meet me in the sunshine, in the breeze, in the sound of the waves and even in the rain. His presence was with us as we greeted each morning with anticipation and said farewell to the days in the evenings with contented exhaustion. 

As we parted ways, the sadness in my sons’ faces was hard to bear. “We’ll be back,” I said not only to comfort them but myself as well. I sure pray that the Lord is generous to us again to allow us for more summer holidays at the beach with family, and that those who couldn’t come this time could be there too, to make the picture complete. I pray that I can see Him and His sufficiency in all that surrounds me and that the memories made this year would carry us through the days ahead as we say goodbye to the summer break and begin a new adventure by the Hand of Him who controls our ways.