finding love at the beach

August in Florida is toasty warm

our elevators do not have air conditioning or much ventilation
so Wednesday Deborah, the girls and I did something new-
we took the stairs when we went down to the pool
and we found love in the stairwell

sometimes love shows up in off the wall places
and if you only look for it where it "should be"
you might miss it

last night we adults were planning to be in bed by midnight

we got our night time snack by 11:30,

headed to the balcony to enjoy it

and we found another new love-

a storm was moving in over the gulf 

it stretched as far as we could see 

from the left to the right 

and it's beauty kept us up until almost one

when we gave up and went to sleep 

even though the show continued

this video does not do it justice

the light from above lit the area below as if it were day

there were several groups of people on the beach 

and there were a few in the ocean

I will not share what I was thinking 

the thunder rolled, loudly
the lightning flashed, brightly
and once we saw a cloud shaped like a heart
we also noticed a sailboat had run aground,

sheltering from the storm 

I woke up this morning at 6:28

and headed out to the balcony, 

hoping to see where the sun had risen

condos block my view to the east so I couldn't see it

but I did get to see this little guy, already at sea

if we don't limit how things are supposed to be 

if we trust that God knows what He is doing

if we trust that He does not make mistakes

if we trust that He is at work in our lives 

if we trust that He will provide everything we need, when we need it...

there is 

so much to see

so much to learn 

so much to enjoy 

so many opportunities to grow

so many new things to explore

there is love to be found in unexpected places

discomfortures and storms can lead us to new experiences

and in the midst of it all the chaos

there is beauty, if we have eyes to see,

and reminders that the Creator and Sustainer of life loves us

sometimes we have to run aground and take shelter

sometimes we have to alter our intended course

but NOTHING that enters our life takes God by surprise
and after a time of shelter and regrouping

there will be a time to set sail again