ROOTED IN LOVEâ—½ HOME
Every September we take a trip to the beach with my in-laws. It’s a great time for making family memories and soaking up some sun (and also lots of sand). We always look forward to it and have a ton of fun. Normally when we go on this vacation, I like to sleep in until about 8 o’clock in the morning. It’s nice to get a little extra rest, and I have to admit I love staying snuggled up all cozy in bed.
Over the past year I’ve gotten in the habit of going for a walk every morning at sunrise so I can pray and spend some quiet time alone with God. I decided to continue that habit during our beach trip this year instead of sleeping in, and I’m so very glad I did.
The beach was quiet and peaceful with pretty much no one else around, and the sunrise over the ocean was breathtakingly gorgeous. Staring out at the water with the pink and purple sky reflected on the rolling waves, I couldn’t help but smile. Absorbing the majesty of God’s creation is humbling and uplifting all at once. It’s impossible not to be thankful in a moment like that. Even with a lot of hard and sad things going on in the world at that time, taking that extra quiet time enabled me to tune out the noise and focus on my blessings. Rather than being overwhelmed by the chaos, I took the time to be overwhelmed in His presence. And that was so much better than sleeping in.
As we enter a season of holidays and festivities, let’s remember to soak in the blessings. It’s easy to get distracted and overwhelmed by all the to-do lists and parties and gift wrapping, so we have to be intentional about carving out that sacred time with Jesus. Our natural instinct is to get caught up in the “more” mentality that comes along with the holidays, but we have to remember that we are already so very blessed.
When it’s hard to hear His voice over all the noise and flashing lights, all it takes is a little bit of time alone with Him to re-center our souls. He’s all around us every day, but we have to have our eyes open to see Him.