He’s My Rock.

Driving down the road, and suddenly you wonder if you even checked to see if the light you just passed through was green.

You’re having dinner with a friend, and as they share details about something they are experiencing (good or bad), your mind…..drifts….off…….

Sipping on your coffee, reading your devotions, and all of a sudden you realize that you just flipped through a couple pages and have NO clue what you just read….

Amazing how we can get SO consumed with thoughts about what happened yesterday, or about stuff we will be facing tomorrow, that we totally miss out on opportunities, lessons and blessings that are right there in front of us – today.

Just had an amazing week in Leland, Michigan. It was as close to what I would consider a “spur of the moment” vacation as you can get, and was one of the most relaxing weeks I’ve had in a very long time. A lot of time to think, and a perfect time to reflect.

Walked on the beach, listened to the waves, LISTENED to my husband (truth!), collected rocks, spent quality time with my brother-in-law and in-laws, took pictures, ate ice cream almost every night, gained 5 pounds, played with our nephew’s children, shopped, laughed, went boating, had a wonderful tour of the area by a local pastor and friend, and of course – watched the sun set.

The only thing that would’ve made the week a better one would have been if our three sons and our daughter-in-law could’ve been there, too. Hopefully, next year….

One afternoon, we spent time on the beach with some family members and with some friends of the family. All the kids were collecting rocks on the beach. It was fun listening to them as they pointed out their favorites.

One 4-year-old (friend of the family), Julia, had me look through her collection, and we “oohed” and “awed” at the sparkly ones. PURE fun. I even collected a few myself and made a shape of a heart in the sand with them. I loved that afternoon. It was like time stood still.

The last full day that we were there, Mark and I ended up at another beach than the rest of the gang. Everyone was kind of doing their own thing, so we decided to go out on our own. We basically walked the beach, picked up a couple rocks and admired the view for the last time.

Later that day, when we got back to the house, my mother-in-law (Dottie) told me that Julia had found a rock that she wanted me to have, so she had Dottie put it in her purse to bring back to me.

As she pulled it out of her purse, I suddenly felt this HUGE lump in my throat when I discovered that the rock was in the shape of a heart. The ironic thing about it all is that I had found a heart shaped rock that same day, too, on another beach.

I have no doubt that this little girl had watched me make the heart out of my collection the day before. Sigh…We really have no idea who is watching us, do we?

Although she will probably never understand how much I appreciate her gift, I am going to be mailing her a thank you card with the rock I had discovered that same day. One act of kindness that taught me what it takes to be a good friend…to be a good wife….to be a loving follower of Christ….to be a good example. Love God, love others.

“O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.” ~ Psalm 139:1-4