A love Story

When I was younger, my family would take periodic camping trips to Morro Bay. I loved hearing the waves crashing in the silent morning. Playing in the sand dunes. Frolicking in the waves. But there was one thing I always loved the most. Finding sand dollars along the beach.

As soon as we got up in the morning, we would walk down the beach and search for the perfect sand dollar. On a typical trip I was lucky if I was able to find two or three, but that is what made the discovery so much more exciting because there were so few of them. I would carefully wrap them up and take them home to add to my collection.

My love for sand dollars began when I was given a frame that I think belonged to my great-grandmother. Inside was an actual sand dollar with 5 pieces that looked like little white doves flying out of the shell. There was also a poem called The Legend of the Sand Dollar. I have come to realize it was the shorter version of the poem. It said…

There’s a lovely little legend

that I would like to tell,

of the birth and death of Jesus,

found in this lowly shell.

Now break the center open,

and here you will release,

the five white doves awaiting,

to spread Good Will and Peace.

This simple little symbol,

Christ left for you and me,

to help us spread His Gospel,

through all Eternity.

-Unknown

Fast forward to my journey. A day that life seemed black and dreary. Joy seemed out of reach. And I was holding on by a thread. I sensed God calling me to get away. To seek Him.

I didn’t know where I would go. I just got in my car and started driving along the coast. I passed through a rain storm and on the other side was Morro Bay. Fond memories encircled my heart so I decided to stay there for the night. However, I didn’t sleep well and woke up around 5am unable to go back to sleep. After tossing and turning a little, I felt God nudging me.

Come walk with me.

I knew immediately I was to go down to the beach and walk the shores. It was beautiful. You could still smell the storm that had passed through in the night. And not a single soul was on the beach but me.

As I walked out to the beach I began to get excited thinking about the 2 or 3 sand dollars I might find to remind me of my special walk with God. As I got closer to the water I stopped in my tracks. With amazement and wonder I looked all around me and found sand dollars. Not just one or two, but hundreds!

My eyes teared up and I felt God whisper to me…

After the storm, joy will come in the morning.

I was reminded of the verse Psalm 30:5b, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

In that moment, I truly believed with all my heart, that I mattered. If you read my last blog, you will know what a HUGE moment this was for me. God made sure I knew without a doubt how much He KNEW me, how much He LOVED me and how much I MATTERED to Him.

He knew the joy I found in finding a simple sand dollar. He could have made sure I found my 2 or 3 sand dollars, but not that day. He knew what I NEEDED the most that day. He wanted me to fill up my little sandwich-sized bag with all the sand dollars that I could, and in fact there were so many that the overflow ended up in my jacket pockets.

And just like that abundant bag, God wanted to fill my heart to its fullness and let it overflow. The love I felt from Him on that day was so much more extravagant than anything I could have ever imagined.

Friends, no earthly father or spouse will ever fill that void or longing in our life. Only our Abba Father. Our Daddy.

God wants to give us a love story unlike any we will ever experience… or imagine.