There was a young boy playing in the ocean as the waves rolled in. The boy looked to be about seven or eight. His porcelain skin, shirt, oversized hat, and the expression on his face that said “holy cow! I’ve just discovered something wonderful!” told me that the sunny beach was not his home (and that’s okay. If you know me, you know MY porcelain skin says the same thing about me). It was a joy to watch him giggle and have fun jumping as each wave splashed under him. As he played, something took his attention for a moment. It was in that moment a wave snuck up on him knocking the hat right off his head. As he regained his footing he slammed his hands down on the water in anger over the loss of his hat. I’m sure he thought it was gone forever because he looked up at his parents, who were sitting on the shore, with a look of such disappointment, it made me audibly say, “Awwwww”.
What he didn’t know (that I, his parents, and everyone else sitting on the beach could see) is his hat was floating in the water directly behind him. If he had just turned around, he would have seen it. It did not take long for him to figure out his parents were motioning for him to turn around. When he did, he grabbed the hat, raised it in the air and exposed such a huge smile to us, one would have thought he found “One Eyed Willie’s” treasure!
Confession time: This little “beach side theater” reminded me of the moments in life when it looked hopeless. I have been (I am sorry to admit) frustrated with God. I have (metaphorically) thrown my hands up and stormed off like a little child. Thankfully, He is patient and loving (like the parents of that little boy seemed to be). Sometimes it has taken Him AND others around me to get my attention to just turn around. Blessings were RIGHT THERE; I just could not see them because I was too busy being mad.
Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the “everything’s going wrong hoopla” life throws at us. If you’re going through an “everything’s going wrong” period right now, take a moment to step back and reassess. You will see you are blessed!