So this one never got posted and there is some fun stuff in here...so I am posting it now.
After an unbelievably long flight, I arrived in my hotel on the "wrong" coast at around 2:00 am Atlanta time. I slept for about 4 hours before my phone started it's insidious pinging with emails, text messages and phone calls. I awake to the craziness, trying to brush the cobwebs from my head, and find a way to handle the "emergencies" of the morning and I then I attempted to go back to sleep. California dreaming right??? No dice. So I started working and by the time lunchtime had come and gone without me eating, I decided to take advantage of the rest of the afternoon.
I was a lonely adventurer who set out by boarding the public bus where I quickly determined that chivalry is most certainly dead and I recommitted myself to instilling that character trait deep down into the soul of my son. I sat on the floor of the bus for an hour as it drifted down the highway towards the beach. There were several things that spoke to me throughout the day of gratitude, thankfulness and the fact that sometimes it is ok to be lonely.
I was somewhat overwhelmed by the panhandlers in the city. They were everywhere and it was a constant reminder to me that if people do not have meaning in their life, that is exactly what they look like on the inside. They can be unclean, disorganized, sometime frantic, and always unsure of the future. During this trip, God spoke to me that I should always remember to find a way to be thankful for the fact that I have a purpose. I am loved. I know the creator of the universe is in my corner and I have nothing to fear.
I finally made it to the beach where I was able to enjoy the sensation of the sand between my toes, the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.
The majesty of the ocean is always a welcome sight to both my physical eyes as well as my spiritual ones. It refreshes my soul. It awakens that sense that the more things get messed up in life, the more God is able to reset everything to look new again. Just like the footprints in the sand are washed away with the tide. It is a fresh start. It is restoration - and it heals me.
As I sat there taking in the beauty around me and appreciating the differences of this coast vs. the right coast, I pondered the last few months of my chaotic mess and I came to a few conclusions:
After an unbelievably long flight, I arrived in my hotel on the "wrong" coast at around 2:00 am Atlanta time. I slept for about 4 hours before my phone started it's insidious pinging with emails, text messages and phone calls. I awake to the craziness, trying to brush the cobwebs from my head, and find a way to handle the "emergencies" of the morning and I then I attempted to go back to sleep. California dreaming right??? No dice. So I started working and by the time lunchtime had come and gone without me eating, I decided to take advantage of the rest of the afternoon.
I was a lonely adventurer who set out by boarding the public bus where I quickly determined that chivalry is most certainly dead and I recommitted myself to instilling that character trait deep down into the soul of my son. I sat on the floor of the bus for an hour as it drifted down the highway towards the beach. There were several things that spoke to me throughout the day of gratitude, thankfulness and the fact that sometimes it is ok to be lonely.
I was somewhat overwhelmed by the panhandlers in the city. They were everywhere and it was a constant reminder to me that if people do not have meaning in their life, that is exactly what they look like on the inside. They can be unclean, disorganized, sometime frantic, and always unsure of the future. During this trip, God spoke to me that I should always remember to find a way to be thankful for the fact that I have a purpose. I am loved. I know the creator of the universe is in my corner and I have nothing to fear.
I finally made it to the beach where I was able to enjoy the sensation of the sand between my toes, the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.
The majesty of the ocean is always a welcome sight to both my physical eyes as well as my spiritual ones. It refreshes my soul. It awakens that sense that the more things get messed up in life, the more God is able to reset everything to look new again. Just like the footprints in the sand are washed away with the tide. It is a fresh start. It is restoration - and it heals me.
As I sat there taking in the beauty around me and appreciating the differences of this coast vs. the right coast, I pondered the last few months of my chaotic mess and I came to a few conclusions:
- Kids these days are really quite spoiled - Some parents let them rule the home and do not set things in order to train them to be the well rounded functioning adults that we need to have running the next generation. So I set it in my heart to seek God daily to help me raise my children remembering the gifts they are but also honoring the one who created them so they will know their place and purpose in this world and respect others.
- A $10 day pass on a public transportation system will provide an amazing adventure filled with smiles, tears, scenery and even a decent slice of pizza.
- It truly is good to be lonely every now and again and I am learning to embrace those times so I can lean in further to my Abba Daddy and remember that I may be lonely, but I am NEVER alone.
- And finally, I was reminded of a friend who has a knack for wandering around meeting new people and trying new things. I rarely do that when I get the chance to travel and for the first time I think I know what it felt like to be Corey and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
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