Reflections

You know those days... weeks, even....when it seems like life just won't slow down? Yet, in all the moments that are slipping by, you put out a hand in a feeble effort to make it stop. To slow it down. 

The effort is always pointless, for the time is like grains of sand that slip deliciously through your fingers and land in the earth below. The sand on the shore behind you is where you've been; the ocean ahead of you is your future. And you're scared. Scared to leave the sand of what you knew. Of what is familiar, and take the first hesitant steps into the ocean waves that softly brush your feet. 

But you can't remain where you are. And the only chance is to take the next step. And trust that Jesus will be right there beside you, taking your hand and helping you to walk atop the waves. 

And He will. But that first step is always the hardest. Why is it so hard to let go of the sand, when in reality, we never really could hold it to begin with? 

You know those moments where you feel as if suddenly, you aren't... right. It's as if you've been startled awake to the reality that you are a lot different than others. In that moment, there's a choice. To accept who God has made you, and smile in your differences. To let other people know that you're okay with being different. Or to shrink back, afraid. Afraid of perhaps not measuring up to the standard that we think we need to meet. But then again, why should we feel the need to be the same? Is not life made even more beautiful through differences? 

You know those summers, where life changes. It seemed impossible. What would one summer bring? But it brings so much. It's marked with little things, that add up to be big things. Little choices, that remain for a lifetime. New interests, that you didn't even care about before. A new awakening in your soul that you are being called to do more. A new confidence in who God has made you. A new life He's opened up for you. And then, as the lazy days fade away, you look back. And suddenly, you realize that while you never felt it, everything changed. And nothing will ever be quite the same. 

It only took one summer. One magical, beautiful, summer. To change the course of a life. Forever. 

Days. Years. Moments. Summers. All ways we measure time. Live each moment to the full. Fill each day with joy. Spend your years making others smile. And those summers... well, treasure them. Because no two summers are alike. And one thing is for certain. 

After summer is over, nothing is ever the same.