Walking Along the Beach

My favourite place to walk is the beach. I love seeing the powerful waves, the frothy tips that kiss the shore, the unending deep ocean that goes as far as my eyes can see. I love hearing the waves crashing as they break, blocking out all the other noise that would distract me from being in this moment. As I walk along the sand, sometimes my feet sink and it becomes difficult to move forward, sometimes my toes feel the coolness of the water and sometimes the waves surround my ankles. It's as though all the stress of real life is a long way away.

My favourite beach is my refuge. It's where I go to be alone. A little over 20 years ago, when my mum was dying, I would come here. Here I could cry out to God. Here was a visible reminder of His power that is more powerful than the waves He created, His love that is deeper than the ocean and His presence that is unending. Every now and again I would see seaweed being tossed about in the waves and I would think about all the creatures lurking in the deep waters that I couldn't see. As I walked along the beach, sometimes I would pick up a shell and toss it back into the ocean. But it was here I knew that despite His awesome power and majestic ways, God still cared about me and for every tear I cried, He felt it too. Whether it be at that time or other times when I was hurting, this was my place to go.

Over the years I have walked along this beach with friends. Sometimes we would share the concerns and worries we were feeling, sometimes we would walk and talk, sometimes we would stop and play, making sandcastles, splashing in the water, laughing and just enjoying each other's company.

I have been to this beach and sat on the sand, thinking and reflecting.
I have sat at the picnic table and written fictional stories for fun.
I have eaten ice-creams in a cone as I've walked along the beach.
I have stood at the water's edge and breathed in the smell of the ocean, while the water danced over my toes.

In any weather, this is the place to be. When the sky is threatening and the waves seem stronger and more powerful, I can watch awestruck.
When the sun is shining brightly and the ocean is so pretty, I can feel lighthearted and positive about the future.
I can watch families playing beach cricket, throwing a frisbee, digging holes or having a picnic. I can watch fishermen stand on the shore and throw their lines out into the water hoping to catch something... anything. I can watch dogs run down to the water and throw themselves in, swimming over the waves and then coming back to shake it all out. And yet, there have been times when I am the only one there and my footprints are the only ones in the sand.

To this beach, I took Andy for our wedding anniversary yesterday and we walked along the beach together, hand in hand. We enjoyed the sounds of the waves crashing, we laughed at the dogs playing and remarked about how kites must be made differently to when we were children because now, they stay in the air so easily. At one point, Andy walked into the water, faced down a wave and dived into it. When I told him about how I used to throw shells back into the ocean, he told me of a Charlie Brown comic where one of his friends scolds him for doing the same because, "Think of the hard effort it was for the shell to get here!" (or something like that.)

Walking along the beach is one of my favourite things to do and sharing it with people I love, makes it that much more enjoyable.