Seashells + low tide + driftwood = contentment.
Living in the Pacific Northwest within a few miles of Puget Sound is a blessing. One of my happy places is a beach, any beach, with plenty of seashells and driftwood. Add the time of day when it’s low tide and I’m tickled to be there.
My favorite activity is gathering shells, stones, sticks, and anything else the tide has deposited. But not for taking home with me. No, I like to make faces at the seaside—sometimes on the sand, sometimes on a big piece of driftwood, and sometimes on a large rock. Oh, the interesting portraits (for lack of a better word) I have created using open bivalve shells for eyes, a barnacle-covered pebble for a nose, seaweed for hair, and a crooked stick or broken shell for a mouth. Then I can rearrange them for a variety of expressions. The beach speaks.
I said I don’t take them home with me, but, in a sense, I do. I pull out my smartphone and snap pictures of each portrait. After I develop the photos, I use them on greeting cards.
Jesus spent time on the beach. After all, He called fishermen to follow Him. Did He pick up shells and rocks to admire and appreciate? We don’t know, but for me, doing this is a refreshing way to focus on what God provides rather than on struggling to have more possessions, status, or admiration.
I’m not rich, but I don’t lack necessary things. Still, finding what God provides for my enjoyment beyond the necessary brings contentment to my soul. Not everyone has a beach they can easily access, but God provides every area with ways to enjoy the environment He created.
What simple activity can you think of that will help you find contentment in Christ?
(photo courtesy of pixabay.com.)
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Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to two of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, facilitating a small women’s group at church, and mentoring a few friends who also desire to write.