Sitting in beach chairs watching as toes disappear. It's quiet and I am doing more thinking than I'd like to admit.
How did we get here? Just as the sunset seems to come more quickly while we are away...
So did the season.
My sweet friend and I talked last week about this issue of time. There's no denying it never stops, but there are moments while life seems to be going at warp speed, when it really does seem to stand still. Maybe just for an individual, or a family, or a friend...its an illusion, but nonetheless a trick I don't mind falling for time and again.
I reflect a lot of times when it seems a year has come full circle.
Did we leave a mark? Were there marks left on us, were there growing pains? Yes there were. Were there moments of fear and moments of bliss fueled by a peace we can't explain, yes there were.
Are we in better places than when we sat in these chairs last year- is the world better because of our actions and time away from these chairs?
Did this year seem too good to be true and leave hesitant? I can't understand how we were created so that we can only handle what's in front of us today. So are the moments during this week when we can soak up one another too good to be true? On our very best day we are loved more perfectly and infinitely by grace alone....
Did the current of time carry us along... or were we instead able to lean into the truth and walk our journey, no matter how the tide's opinion may have differed.
Did we glorify Him as many times as the waves crash in the moments I sit here...amazing to think of the challenge of living in such a way that His majesty is reflected in everything we do.
Will they always lose themselves in the simplicity of "just us" together in creation?
These memories have a job, to carry us through the trials to come...they will come.
Will we remember our gratitude and rejoice in the promise of an eternity of this peace?
Sometimes finding sand in an unlikely bag or place most definitely left by tiny hands who immersed themselves in the wonder of His majesty is a gift. Sometimes it takes me back to that brief quiet time. I laugh that we have carried such tiny treasures all the way home with us, and I am thankful for the reminder of the time in front of us.
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| The first time their toes touched the sand this year |
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| Taking it all in... |
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| I love this picture. Its like looking capturing time in a picture, They both see the same beauty and feel the same gratitude for each other, and for time. |
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| The beach+Skipper=heaven on earth for one fellow |
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| This smile is my ad campaign to MOVE |
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| Tinky in all of her "matching" glory |
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| Mothers day morning bright and early |
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| These two are the best...I couldn't ask for a better uncle for my babies, they adore Sarah and sweet pea, we are so blessed. |
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| Another castle...thank goodness we brought a real builder |
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| theres no telling... |
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| Our man |
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| Ceec....leave it to us to shorten a nick name...oh how we love that lady |
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| oh my, why do my kids both look like ceec and my brother??? Lucky for them :) |
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| Madden is very in to last names, do you know how confusing that is in this family? |
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| Don't know where they are going, but they are going. |
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| MY JOYS |
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| Cartwheel turned into a flip |
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| cartwheel |
