An Unexpected Gift… [from the sea]

While hubby and #StormyGirl have always enjoyed the water and all of the adventures it holds, collecting shells is my lone beach activity… On our recent trip to the beach, I gathered a larger than usual amount of shells. Shells once discarded for their imperfections lingered in my hands and found their way back to my beach bag. Grateful for the unexpected gift of a trip to the ocean and back amongst a land of familiarity, the imperfections no longer troubled me as they might have in years past—in a season of plenty.

That’s the trouble with seasons, you never know how splendidly beautiful a season is until it’s slipped through your fingers and is lost, forever, to the sands of time. This go-round, I look around with more genteel eyes and I don’t take for granted the moments even the imperfect ones. And instead, I hold on tightly to my treasure trove of gathered shells.

Hometown, Ok is still more strange and odd to me than familiar… but I recognize her season, too, is fleeting from the moment she began. So, I strive to seek and find her beauty and celebrate all of her splendidness. And equally, I hold her imperfections as shells no longer to be discarded.

Seeking perfection is a loser’s game. Trusting the One who ordered the stars is a matured approach… and a distinction I hope to abide in. 

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him” [Psalm 18:30].