at the ocean

Present Over Perfect is one of those books that I read often, but have never actually finished. I always get stuck on a few specific chapters and never move on from them. Shauna's a true artist because she's gifted at giving language to what so many of us sense and feel. Without her work, I'm not sure I could put into words what's happened to me. I'm not even sure I can put it into words right now, but I'll try.

In the opening chapter of that book, Shauna describes her recent season as a "sea change," a term that means a profound or notable transformation. I recently spent a week at the ocean with some my closest friends and something so unexpected occurred that I'm still processing what it all means. I came to the ocean as one person and left as someone else, someone with a settled heart and renewed conviction that the future is bright and good.

I wasn't looking for God on that beach and went on the trip expecting relaxation, not transformation. Yet, God showed up in such a tangible way that I'll live the rest of my life expecting Him to show up everywhere.

Someday, I'll share more about what happened. But for now, I'd like to encourage you that life can change in a moment. I want to tell you that if this sort of transformation happened to me at Daytona Beach, it can happen to you anywhere. Daytona Beach is a hundred thousand miles away from pews, choirs, and sermons, but I'd like to think God is interested in showing up in places besides the Church. To be honest, I'd much rather have a spiritual experience at the beach than at church, but that's another post altogether :)

I recently read this quote and it has stayed with me because it perfectly captures the nature of what happened. “God doesn't always move quickly, but He moves suddenly." Some things take time, but some things don’t. Things can change over the course of one year, but they can also change over the course of one week. May we all have at least one “and suddenly” in our lifetime. Preferably, at the beach