Everything changes when you have a child, certainly when you have three of them. One thing that has changed drastically in my life is vacation. Our recent family vacation to the beach was full of...well, everything but relaxation.
I used to love reading a book while wiggling my toes in and out of the hot, soft sand. This year I knew there was no point in even packing a book in the beach bag, and well, I gave up on sleep three years ago.
Now, of course, as with everything, it's all about the kids. My new favorite beach activity is simply watching my children enjoy the water, sand and shells. Gretchen immediately took to the ocean. She would chase the white crest of the waves as they came in and as they went back out. She jumped the waves and even sat down and let the waves crash on her tiny torso. Griffin, however, was not as eager to enjoy the water. He was content to play makeshift basketball with his beach bucket and bocci balls.
Although he is mighty brave in the pool and began jumping off the diving board before his third birthday, it took him three days to work up enough courage to touch the ocean. Each day he would get closer and closer to the water. Each family member tried a different method to lure him into the water, but he didn't fall for any of our tricks. Wednesday morning Gretchen and I were sitting in the wet sand digging for shells and allowing the waves to crash on our feet. I noticed Griffin inching himself closer and closer but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to frighten him. After intensely studying what we were doing, he suddenly sprinted into the water. It was as if something just clicked. He began running in and out of the water. Jumping. Splashing. Just playing. His face was priceless and showed one emotion...pure joy.
Watching the two of them playing in the water brought me immense pleasure...mainly because it made all the work entailed in vacationing worth it; however, seeing Griffin overcome his fear actually caused me grief too. See, at first the ocean in all of its magnitude frightened him. He was aware of its power and it intimidated him. But once he became comfortable with it, his fear was gone. His lack of fear lead to a sense of freedom. Freedom to enjoy the refreshing coolness of the water and the recreation it had to offer.
Watching him, I began to think of our view of God. At first we fear Him. All we see is a powerful force, and we're afraid to get close enough to see what He has to offer. Then we begin to see how others are blessed as they draw close to Him. Eventually, we want what they have and we finally go running into His arms. We accept his embrace of forgiveness, love, and grace. We dance around in our freedom. Then we get comfortable. We forget the magnitude of what He did for us.
Enjoy God. Allow yourself to get lost in His love for you. But continue to respect the enormity of that love.
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