Spending time at the ocean can truly transform your mind. In addition to the overwhelmingly peaceful feeling that comes with your toes in the sand, sun on your face, and the sound of crashing oceans ringing in your ears, there is sense of awe that comes when looking across the ocean, knowing that this gorgeous landscape was created by the same exact God who created you.
Crazy huh?
I have spent some time this past month or so, really reflecting on the different pieces of me that make me who I am. My personality. My emotions. My appearance. My role in the world. My job. My family. Every single side of me was completely thought out and planned FOR me…by the same God who created each different pattern on every single shell that washed up from the gigantic ocean that housed trillions of different colored fish and sea life. What. An. Amazing. Feeling.
I’m certain I am not alone in thinking how overwhelmingly important that realization is- that every piece of my body and my mind and my soul was so delicately planned out by God. I imagine Him journaling about me- what things to “throw in” to my personality, how my body will be shaped, where my spiritual journey will begin and how it will grow. I imagine the hurdles He planned as lessons for me to know Him more deeply. I imagine Him writing out the successes I will have, to continue to build my self-confidence, and my confidence in Him. I think about the fun he had when he planned when I would have these epiphanies that should seem so obvious to anyone with true faith and trust in Him, but for me, required more lessons and time having to intentionally see Him show up FOR ME.
And so, I sat on the beach this weekend, looking at the different patterns on the shells that had washed up in the sand, and thought about how much time He must have spent designing each one of these shells- the shells that people would walk over and crack. The shells that would be picked up by “shell hunters” on early morning beach walks. And I realized that if God cares that much about the design patterns on shells, he certainly cared deeply about the design of me- His daughter. It made me appreciate myself a bit more- even the parts about myself I don’t love (yet). It gave me a different perspective of myself and of the roads I’ve taken. What if….I truly trusted and believed that every single road I’ve taken was perfectly laid out for me so that I would grow closer to the One who designed my plan? And what if, there is someone else who is thinking this exact same thing- that the hardships and the emotions, and the waiting…are all for something greater?! I mean, how exciting is THAT, ya’ll?
So here I sit on a plane back to my real life, away from the beach…going towards the people who matter the most to me…so incredibly fulfilled, and aware of the blessings God has given me. Trusting whole-heartedly in the journey, and knowing that my future is planned out by the God who cares so much about even the shells on a beach, that He created me just as I am supposed to be.
(Second) Lucky Chance 