Amelia Island

Tomorrow, we'll return home... but for now, I'm watching the waves tumble against the shore. It's our last morning here on Amelia Island, my sixth day enjoying the uninterrupted company of my husband and daughter.

Our room smells like sunscreen and salt, and freckles have once again taken over my face. Six days of no makeup except a bit of mascara when going out to dinner - oh, the bliss. Vacation.

Earlier this morning, while the baby and my husband still slept, I slipped away to go exploring on the island. A girl, a book, and a cup of coffee. Such is my life, no matter where I go. Before the shops opened - or better yet, just as they were beginning to - I drove slowly through the quaint streets and watched the town come alive.

There's something about the beach.

There's something about seeing palm trees along the sides of the road that always makes me feel so far away, regardless of the actual number of miles on the map. It turns me into an adventurer, and makes me feel almost as if that's who I was always meant to be.

And there's something about the salt air that calms things down inside my heart. It's ironic, because there are few places more tumultuous than the place where ocean meets land - but when I stand there with my toes in the sand and the ocean around my ankles, the Lord always feels so close.

It's almost cliche, and it's certainly been said a thousand times before - but standing at the edge of the ocean reminds me how small I am, and how big God is. It eases my anxieties, and tempers or clarifies those that still remain. It makes the Scriptures flood my mind:

He must increase and I must decrease. 
His thoughts for me outnumber the sand.
The heavens declare the glory of God.
As far as the east is from the west, 
so far has He removed my transgressions.
What is man, that You delight in Him, o God?

Come to Me, all who are weary...

Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls - 
All your waves and breakers have swept over me.

Your love, O Lord...

- - -

There is something about the beach that makes me feel so far from my earthly home... and so incredibly close to my heavenly one. The taste of the salt on the breeze, the glint of the sun on the waves, the way the water cleans the sand, over and over again... how can I not remember the way His mercy cleanses me just the same?

Over and over, the waters meet the land and turn it into something more. And over and over again, He reaches me.

I am grateful for six days with my loves, and for sunshine that tans my skin and freckles my nose. I'm grateful for salt and sand and time away and somebody else making the bed in the morning. For fresh towels, good playlists, and dining outside at sunset.

Vacation. Amelia Island, 2016.

Your love, O Lord...

I am grateful.