Little Lessons Of Perspective I Packed In My Heart To Take Home To Real-Life

Does “real-life,” a busy schedule and ordinary days have you feeling down & overwhelmed? Take a breath and gaze, peace and calm are near.

While I have already dished the details on the special memories that our family was fortunate enough to make in Sanibel Island & Captiva, here in this post...and in this video.

…I haven’t told you this…

or this.

My most favorite thing to do during our vacation…was not found in a tourism activity book.

In fact?

It was free.

It was simple.

It was experienced alone.

My favorite thing to do, was waking up every morning to watch the sun begin to rise silently over the sea.

I would set the alarm on my phone for about 30 minutes before the actual sunrise. Only, I never winded up needing it, because my internal clock subconsciously knew that I had an important appointment with the Creator of the universe.

Tip toeing quietly, I would press the coffee pot on and patiently wait for the drips to fill up just enough to pour a single cup and then I’d slip out the side door of the kitchen to see this…

Now, right outside of our beach cottage and 100 barefoot and sandy steps away from a shellers paradise…I stood and stared.

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

I stepped closer…

A first sip of coffee tasted.

A good morning hello exchanged silently between my eyes and a tangerine sky.

A salt air breath inhaled of the magical fragrance only made possible by a liquid horizon.

A pair of bare feet ready to move closer to the sounds of the surf, gently massaging the sandy earth on shore.

A morning meeting with The One…awaited.

And…a surprise.

Even better than a seaside sunrise?

A sunrise MOON.

The sunrise moon, seemingly hanging steadfast overhead, keeping watch while tired minds renewed and dark seas rolled, gracefully underneath it’s understated light.

A sunrise moon set the stage…up all night, in simple supporting actress role, prepared to fade and allow the sun to soon take center stage.

But first –

I stood and stared, again.

Deep breath in…deep breath out.

With most of the world still sleeping, my ears took advantage of the chance to tune in more closely to the natural soundtrack softly playing at my feet.

The sounds of shells gently jingling as waves washed over them, sifting and sorting, tumbling into new destinations, all determined by the natural motion of a sea exhaling onto the shore.

Tide in…Tide out.

Deep breath in…Deep breath out.

Yes, My favorite thing “to do” on vacation was to stand and stare.

Yes, “doing” can look very passive and yet still produce deeply significant fruit in our lives.

Sometimes all we need to do is –

Breathe in…breathe out and gaze, to produce the change in mental tides we desperately seek.

Choosing a chance to breathe-

Self-selecting to stop and stare with intentional gaze at a very active God can be life-giving.

Life-giving in the sense that when we do this –

breathe and gaze…it anchors us to Truth in a confusing world.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

john 14:6 ESV

The doing was in the listening and leaning into the whispers of Truth. (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Truths for what is real.

Truth for what is important.

Truth for what really matters.

Truth to help lead me forward, after I would leave this special place.

And there it is.

The other “this” I haven’t told you about.

The leaving part.

Our vacation offered a much needed break from the grinding and ordinary days of home, work, bills, responsibilities…and while I could feel my naturalist pathway of connecting with God feasting on the super foods of morning sunrises and stunning sunsets…

Towards the end of this much anticipated getaway….

I could feel myself getting nervous to go home.

To go back to reality and all that it demands of me.

Has that ever happened to you?

You are nearing the end of something you have looked forward to for such a long time and now…

Now, it’s coming to an end.

How could I pack these feelings of closeness with God and the calming sense of peace from the sea, into my heart like the shells in my suitcase that I planned to bring home?

For me, there are always emotions that come when good things are coming to an end.

In fact, I wrote about this very thing, here in this post, where I pulled the above image and a quote of mine that I shared at the end of Summer two years ago.

In not shocking news…this post also has a lot to do with the change of tides and life.

Whether it be the light at the end of a long tunnel, like this vacation was for our family, or a much needed getaway weekend, spa day or mini respite from the daily routine…

Sometimes when you actually do get a break from it all?

It can be overwhelming, maybe even intimidating to enter back into the “real world.”

The world…the hurting world, still spinning at break neck speeds is hard to look in the eye, now that you have “skipped a line & come up for air” as I like to call it, and given yourself permission to embrace a slower speed.

And so?

In raw honesty, I was nervous to come home and jump back in to life in full swing…knowing that our busiest family and work schedule of all was awaiting me.

And?

With a full plate and schedule looming, I was anxious that somehow, I would not be able to connect with God as closely as I was, here at sunrise on the shore.

I was feeling all of these things…

And then?

As the silent moon slipped away…still visible but faint…so too, did my silent nerves of our vacation slowly slipping away too.

And as the sky colors began to transform from midnight and moody blues to purples…and pinks and then eventually yellow?

I remembered this.

God’s power and His ability to speak in whispers to our heart is not dependent on a sunrise shore and sea side walk.

No friend…God’s beauty, His whispers and His strength and stamina are available everywhere…to everyone at any time.

It’s not about God’s willingness to meet us in these moments…

It is about our willingness to slow down and look for God…no matter where we are standing.

Oh friend…above all I want remember and offer this gentle reminder –

It will always come down to our willingness to make time and meet with God.

Not His willingness to make time and meet us.

While we are not in control of the chaos and upset we are facing in this broken world…we are in control of our own willingness to have a sunrise moment, right in the middle of what can be the mundane and ordinary backdrops of our “real life” back home.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

joshua 1:9 ESV emphasis added

And friend?

He shows up every time we are willing to look.

He will meet us…right where we are.

In fact…

The simple transformation of changes outside are unspoken testimonies to the power of our Creator and the lengths He will go to, to remind us that He is still God…and He is still on the throne.

While taking time away, like a beautiful vacation is always lovely and can serve as fertile soil for finding deep soul rest…

The truth is?

The ground is fertile right where we stand…today…here…in this very moment.

It is up to us to tend to the soil in our hearts, breathe, stop & stare…

It is up to us to make space in a busy “real life” calendar, and to be a “noticer” of life and beauty right in the middle of our every-days.

God’s ability to reach us and speak to us does not depend on our souls being soaked in calm and serene environments…it depends on our availability and the room we make for Him in our hearts.

And so?

There is the weapon to erase and evict the nervous energy threatening to kick up anxiety, all in attempt to upset the soul calm found in a sunrise moment…

This very truth:

He goes with us wherever we go.

He is ahead of us, behind us, beside us…on sidewalk or sand.

He is but a breath away friend.

We can seize the sunrise moments of soul calm in the dailyness of our every day…if we are willing to go there with Him and look for them.

Sure…this rare wood frog may not be as “pretty” as a seaside blue heron…

Nonetheless…

He was worthy to be seen, stopped and stared at during my morning run yesterday.

He was a reminder of Truth found with a change of perspective.

Oswald Chambers said it like this:

“We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18).

We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life – those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.”

Oswald Chambers

The daily routine, the makeup of the mundane…this is where our stamina and strength is proved.

And?

“Real life” and routine does not have to be feared, when a vacation is ending or when a busy week is approaching.

Because we have a God that goes with us and tucks treasures to be discovered right into our everyday.

Sure, I prefer the sea shell and sandy types 🙂

But oh how ordinary life can be just as, if not more beautiful…when we are willing to look for them.

Let us not be in too much of a hurry that we walk right by…

Living on a prayer,

Heather

Dear God,

Thank you for the blessings of a break when we need it. Thank you for the small reminders you place in our lives…that you are EVERYWHERE, all the time.

Thank you for making it possible for me to meet with YOU anywhere I go…and as I seek you, let me find you.

Make us continually aware of your presence in our lives.

Amen.

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

Psalm 42:2 NIV