Beach breathing.....

During vacation a couple weeks ago

I kept a journal of sorts whiling away my days on the beach.

I logged my thoughts and feelings 

on scraps of paper, backs of magazines, 

and in a small pad of paper I found tucked away in my purse.

I find myself returning to that little journal

time and time again

when I need to escape,

to regroup,

and to feel close to God.

This is an excerpt from that beloved journal.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~ 

I plant my feet deep in the sand and lift my face to the morning sun.

I feel God's warm embrace.

I hear him calling to me in the splashing of the waves on shore.

The wind tousles my hair around my eyes

and I


am in


His heaven.

My soul drinks up the moment and savors it ~

holding it close to my heart...
wanting never to forget.

I hear people walking by
sharing memories with each other

of happy times spent on this beach in years past,

and I open my tear-filled eyes to see
shimmering diamonds on liquid blue.

A father holds his baby daughter as he wades into the water

picking up shells to show her.

His young son yells "Look, Daddy!  Look at what I made!"

as he points to a sandcastle perched at water's edge.

Velvety gray dolphins rise out of the water around a boat
making it's way across the bay.
They jump and play tag in the frothy wake.

The boaters slow and call out to them.

As an osprey floats overhead and settles in the Australian pines that embrace the rustling palms, 

pelicans hover by just inches above the surface of the ocean.

Little sandpipers scurry along the shoreline

searching for a snack in the wet, glistening sand.

I breathe in the warm, salty air....

and sigh.

This is God's embrace.


This is where I can truly see him
feel him
hear him.

I breathe deeply and close my eyes.

I lift my face,
spread my arms...

and



begin to dance...

{ Hugs }

Thank you, sweet Kerrie, for reminding me...


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