Happy…feeling the warmth of a campfire on a cold evening, enjoying a cool, enjoyable breeze on a hot day, seeing the first star at night… LifeBeats day to you.
OFFERINGS
Dear ‘LifeBeats’ friends,
I mentioned in my earlier writing entitled SECRET PLACE dated December 3, 2018 why I refer to our day-to-day experiences as ‘LifeBeats’. If we breathe, we have life experiences, some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. We all have our own ‘life beat’ occurrences. I will continue sharing some of my earlier life beat experiences as well as recent ones.
My husband and I were able to go to the beach recently. We hadn’t been to the ocean for a few years, so it was a real treat when our friends invited us. I loved watching the seagulls and pelicans fly overhead looking for any free handouts; or when these adept hunters actually had to ‘work’ for their food, plunge into the water head first retrieving the smaller fish and eliminate them with one gulp. Their constant squalls reminded me of children at a picnic constantly shrieking for food and attention.
As I felt the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze on my face, I closed my eyes, breathed in deeply and whispered, “Thank you, my King for creating this wonderful world to enjoy and experience Your handiwork.” I reached down and felt the warm sand, so fine it felt like white powder running through my fingers. My gaze extended to the water, slowly lapping on to the beach chasing the small birds waiting for any treasures that might have washed ashore. Their little, toothpick legs always outran the surf as though getting wet was the worst thing that could happen to them. The endless water that now was gentle could change and become fierce and fore-bolding. I was glad that day it was at peace allowing me to relax.
As I experienced those wonderful moments, my thoughts went to my Lord wanting to show Him my gratefulness and somehow give Him something… an offering. How can I give Him anything that He doesn’t already own or can create? I looked around as I sat in my chair, it’s legs partially buried in the soft, white sand and saw the many assorted shells mostly broken by their turbulent journey from the ocean floor and thought, I can give Him back what He gave to me! I became excited as I searched through the many colorful pieces. Each one was examined as to its beauty and completeness.
My husband’s expert eye dug through the sand finding some that weren’t broken. “Hey, this is a keeper! I’d like to keep this one!” “No, Hon, if we like this one, then He will too,” I replied with my head down still digging through the sand. He quickly placed it on our pile. I knew he agreed with me because his love for his Jesus is continual. He and I have been giving similar ‘offerings’ to our Lord over the years we have been on trips. It has almost become a tradition. The Rocky Mountains have their offerings of rocks, pinecones, cactus, fallen pine tree branches and wild flowers.
We continued making our ‘offering’ finding and placing small pieces of watery wood from the ocean’s floor into a rustic ocean arrangement. As we looked at our completed art work, we lowered our heads. While the screeching seagulls soared overhead, we prayed, “Lord, thank You for allowing us to be here to experience Your beauty. Please accept our offering to You. Each shell shows your beauty. Each piece of wood shows Your faithfulness. We love You, our King, so much. We give back to You, in this small way, our thanksgiving and gratefulness to be here to enjoyYou.” Staying with our heads lowered, eyes closed, each voicing our praise to Him, we felt His presence.
After a while, we folded our chairs, traipsed through the soft, powdery sand and returned to our room. I tell you of this ‘LifeBeat’ because it is something we all can do. The ‘offering’ does not have to be large or elaborate but, can be simple and small. Our offering on the beach was not large to be observed by others, but we knew He knew right where it was and felt our hearts of love. Remember, He sees everything, knows our longings, disappointments and victories. He will see your ‘offering’ anywhere you go or any place you stay. He just loves and wants us to remember to appreciate and be grateful to Him.
Why don’t all of us give an ‘offering’. It can be a handful of grass from our backyards along with one or two flowers that may be in bloom and twigs from our trees. Our trips to Colorado became an opportunity to give pine cones and branches, wild flowers, old tree wood, cactus and different colored rocks. The events can be limitless. Let’s just look for opportunities to thank Him. Remember, don’t be hesitant if you think, I don’t think this is grand enough. I don’t want to insult Him because it is too small. He reads our hearts. If we are to give Him larger offerings, He will tell us.
We can be creative and also include our children with their delightful imaginations. They love doing this since their world involves creativity all the time. They will also be glad to presents their ‘gifts’ and form their own relationships with their Lord. It can be a wonderful family project or tradition. This is a small but, very huge in its impact way to say “thank You, Lord for this ‘LifeBeat’ today.”
If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and want to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at 1-833-644-3600. She is a compassionate and effective professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information click CONTACT option at top of page.
©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS
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