Personal Beach

I live on the second floor of my apartment complex.  Outside my door is a balcony that overlooks a court yard.  Sometimes at night, when I am leaving my apartment, I will stop and put my elbows on the rail and just look out over the courtyard.  I can close my eyes and at night when everything else is quiet, I can hear the air conditioning units from the building next door.  If I listen closely to them, they sound like the waves of the ocean lapping against the beach.  Sometimes there is even a breeze that blows by me and I feel like I am standing by the ocean on a warm summer night.

 Its my own personal beach, my own personal moment where nothing is wrong, everything is right.  The world is as it should be.  God gives us those moments.  Although I am not truly standing on the beach, God gives me the opportunity to leave all my worries behind and imagine that I am at one of God’s most beautiful creations, the beach. 

In the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,  one of Ferris’ lines is “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”  It is a true statement, we get stuck in the everyday pattern of life, from work to taking care of our kids, to doctors appointments to soccer games, to laundry to lawn mowing.

We never just stop and find the time to just live.  We have to take a vacation to relax, we can’t just be.  God didn’t create this world around us for us to miss it.  It’s the everyday things that we miss and it’s the everyday things that God intends for us to see.  He provides us with the backdrop, it is up to us to paint the picture. 

So take a moment, breathe… Smell the flowers, watch the birds, hug your kids.  Stand out on the balcony and close your eyes and listen to the world around you.  Maybe you will find your own personal beach.  If you can’t find it, come over, you can borrow mine.  God didn’t just give it to me, he gave it to all of us!  May you find the small things so that you live life and don’t just miss it!