Anticipation

This is the middle of July and we are getting ready to take our daughters and their families to Long Beach, NC where for many years we had a beach house on the ocean. That place was eaten by the Atlantic in 1993 in a terrible winter storm, but the intense beauty of the ocean and our spiritual encounter with both it and the town has stayed with us.

I can still, in a few moments, recapture the wonder of the sound of the surf and the breeze in my face. It is like the breath of God. I can hardly wait to feel it again in the reality of the beach.

The occasion this time is our Fifty-fifth wedding anniversary. We will celebrate it with a dinner and toast each other. We have all been a part of this amazing odyssey. I can't imagine life without our family and their friends. It is amazing what all of these people have brought into our lives over the years.

I'm not sure what it is about the ocean that captures my spirit. I think it has something to do with the presence of the sun and the wind, the gulls, and the wonder of dolphins playing a hundred yards from the shore. When we first saw them, we thought that they were sharks, but it didn't take long for us to come to an understanding of the real nature of those wonderful mammals.

We will have with us all of the things that we will need: our beach towels, and everything our new great-grandson Samson Rodgers will need for his first encounter with the ocean. He will be fun, just by himself.

Books will also be with us. I love to read at the beach. It somehow makes the stories come more alive. I will soak in the books as the ocean keeps its sound in my ears. I thank God for the opportunity to take our kids there.