God and the Olive Shells – Day 6
Day six. It’s the last full day of our vacation. The last day of these peace-receiving, knowledge-gaining morning walks on the beach.
I set out for my final “sabbath” moments of solitude. There is no agenda this morning. Simply to walk, breathe, and listen.
As I walk I take pleasure, and comfort, in the “knowing” that is in my spirit. The knowing that My Father, God, is with me. The knowing that He is watching. The knowing that He cares and does have a plan. The knowing that He has never – ever – left me, even when I felt so very, very far away from Him.
I am thankful for these mornings with Him. I am grateful for the time and finances that He provided to allow us to take a break from life-as-usual for a while. A much-needed while. I so appreciate the seemingly simple ways that God has spoken to me each day… Fragments of sentences in a book… Breaching dolphins in the waters every day… Children’s footprints in the sands… and, of course, there are the olive shells.
As I reminisce and ponder on each truth that He has spoken to me this week I find random olive shells. As I pick up each one I breathe in His peace.
I pray for strength to get back to life a little less susceptible to stress and anxiety. I pray for wisdom in dealing with people, decisions, and circumstances life throws my way. I pray for family’s protection, and for them to have supernatural encounters with the living God that will change their lives, their perspectives, and their hearts. I pray for them by name.
And as I pray for my children and grandchildren, oldest to the youngest, the littlest grandgirl comes to my heart. It is then that I find it. The smallest olive shell I have found all week. His familiar voice speaks to my heart – even on this final walk. “I love the little things”.
God cares about the little things that concern us because we belong to Him and He is full of compassion for His children. He loves those who the world considers “little” – the young, the unlovely, the seemingly unworthy. He delights in the smallest of sparrows and numbers the hairs on our head. He created every tiny grain of sand and every individual snowflake that falls. He has named each child who lives, and those who are mourned by their mommies and daddies (Mommy and daddy, rest assured that they are playing in His infinite playground in the most glorious of places). He catches even the smallest tear that we shed.
He loves even the “little” things. And on this last day of my vacation with Him he confirms it once again… with an olive shell.
Losin' My Religion 