This Day Was No Exception

If you have read my blog, then you already know that God tends to get my attention in unexpected ways. This day was no exception.

We are starting school in a couple of days, so I am determined to squeeze the life out of these last summer days (after all, here in New England we only have a few months of warm weather, so we have to revel in it!). I am not a beach person (in fact, I quite dislike the beach – the sand, the sticky salt water, the hordes of people, the long drive, the ridiculous amount of stuff that you have to drag with you – I could go on, but you get the picture.), but my kids LOVE the beach. So, with the goal of being a good Mom (AKA “fun Mom who does things she doesn’t want to do because she loves her children”), I decided to schlep to the beach.

Well, let’s just say things didn’t go as planned. We got going much later than I expected, I forgot the sand toys, Lela bonked her head getting out of the van, both she and Luke had scrapes that hurt in the sand and salt water, and worst of all, there was a big flashing sign warning of rough surf and strong rip currents. Ugh. I should have checked the surf report (rookie mistake).

The kids made the best of it, but I couldn’t just hang out in my chair and relax – I had to be right down by the water the whole time. Usually, the water gets deep gradually, so I can let everyone go in up to their waist, but not today.  It was unpredictable and deep (not to mention ice cold – I don’t know how the kids stand it!).

I say all of that just to capture that we had a disappointing day (in spite of the cute pictures). The kids didn’t complain, but there were moments when I could tell they weren’t having the best time.

We ended up leaving early and getting stuck in traffic (thank you Lord for the DVD player in our minivan – I don’t care if people think I’m a bad Mom – I freakin’ love that thing!).

But that’s when the day took an unexpected turn in the other direction. Because we left early, we had time to stop for ice cream, so we coordinated a last minute rendezvous with friends. We visited an ice cream stand we had never been to (because we have been touring all the seasonal ice cream stands like it’s our summer job), the kids got messy and enjoyed a massive sugar high, they climbed trees and laughed.

In a neighboring field there was a tractor pulling a contraption that bales hay.  It literally “hurls” the hay bale into the air and onto an adjoining flatbed wagon.  The kids stood on the hill and watched in fascination.

And then they came home and took the boxes that I had out for recycling and they made forts, and they rode bikes, and they had enough unexpected joy to make up for the unexpected disappointment of our beach trip.

At dinnertime we followed up on a question that Lela asked about the waves and tides and the kids were surprised to learn about the gravitational pull of the moon. At bedtime, I asked them how they saw/experienced God today (a fun question that sometimes draws out pretty insightful responses) and to name their favorite part of the day:

Carlie: “I saw God in our friends (I asked why) because we were made to love others and for them to love us. My favorite part of the day was seeing our friends.”

Lela: “I saw God in the ocean waves, and my favorite part of the day was seeing our friends.”

Luke: “I saw God at the beach (I asked why) because of how He made it. My favorite part of the day was ice cream!”

Sometimes I try hard to give my kids memorable moments and they end up being memorable for all the wrong reasons.  But even in a beach day gone awry, the kids had some “God moments.”

And then God provides the right kind of moment for us — those teachable, beautiful moments — when we least expect it. And often, they are in the most simple and wonderful things . . . like friends and ice cream.

I spend a lot of time trying to control and predict life, but I’m glad I don’t get my way, because I would miss moments like these.

In both unexpected disappointment and unexpected joy, there are amazing lessons.

Maybe I should stop trying so hard and just allow life to unfold.  It’s a whole lot better than anything I could ever orchestrate.

Just as “life is stranger than fiction,” so God is bigger than my expectations or imagination.

Every day holds endless moments of awe. And this day was no exception.

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. “ Ephesians 3:20 (The Message translation)