3 Messages from my Beach Getaway

I got to go on a short little trip for my (future) sister-in-laws bachelorette. It was a fun trip full of laughs and memories I will cherish forever. 

As I am heading home and reflecting, I just feel that the Lord spoke some sweet messages to me that I want to share with you. While I wish I could share this with you while sitting in the sand while holding coffee, a simple blog post will do. 

Here are 3 messages that I got from my little beach getaway…

1. We still admire the broken shells. 

As I walked the beach early on Tuesday morning, I found multiple shells and realized that almost all of them were beautiful - even the broken ones. I still picked up and admired the broken shell. I didn't need whole ones. In fact, whole ones were so hard to find that I didn't really care to look for them. 

The same is true for us. Broken people are still admirable through the beauty of which God has brought upon their life. You don't have to be whole. You don't need to be whole in what the world will see. You are whole in Christ which most of us won't see but the broken is still beautiful. 

2. Sometimes we need good rest. 

As I prepped for this trip I told everyone that I was going to sit on the beach and relax but as I packed/prepped for the trip, I brought things to work on. I brought different things to check off my list. Guess what? I didn't do any of it. I actually just sit on the beach and rest. When it rained, I sat in the chair and read. I rested. I connected with God in prayer and reading my Bible but I didn't write. I didn't create outlines or finish blogs. I rested. 

About two weeks ago, my counselor encouraged me to rest. In all honesty, I am in a very overwhelming season of good and hard. There is so much going on and she asked once again (as she usually did) how much had I truly been resting. It was a really hard question to answer but I knew I needed to do better. I wasn't going to go on this trip. I felt guilty going. My husband, mom and best friend encouraged me to get away. They knew it was needed so I did and I truly got to just rest and have fun. My body needed that. My soul needed that. I felt so connected with God even without writing. 

God calls us to rest for connection with Him. He calls us to rest without expectation of work for Him. He wants us to rest to feel renewed. He wants to help carry the weight and the load for us. 

3. Remember to look down at where God currently has you. 

As I walked the beach, I felt the Lord impress a message upon my heart. It’s my favorite lesson from the trip. It is one I pray that I remember for a long time. It is one that I shared with friends as I prayed over them in texts. 

As I walked, I looked up ahead and it was beautiful. There was a pier and the sun was shining but I mostly looked down. As I walked and looked down, there were beautiful shells below me in big clusters. While looking up is good and there is beauty ahead- don't forget to look down at the beauty where He has you. Look down for the sharp shells- the traps set by the devil. Don't miss the snares that can cause you to falter or cut you. 

I felt like the Lord was reminding me that I need to stop and look at where He has me. I need to see the beauty in the season I am in. I need to be present where He has me. I need to be mindful of what the enemy could be trying to do around me. I need to stop just looking ahead and look at where my feet are.