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| Navarre Beach in late December |
Last month, Terry and I visited
Navarre Beach twice, once early in the month and again during New Year’s Week. Winter
on the beach is a new experience for us.
You may remember that I found a sand dollar during that first visit. I turned it
into an ornament for the little tree I put up in the condo.
On our second visit, I
undecorated the tree and packed up our Christmas decorations.
When I took the sand
dollar off of the tree, I’m certain that I didn’t drop it. In fact, I‘d swear I
placed it carefully on the top of the chest. But the next time I looked down, it
was in pieces.
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| Maybe it imploded? |
You may also remember it’s not
the first time one of those little treasures has crumbled on me. I was more philosophical this time and concentrated on being grateful for finding
it in the first place—and for how cute it had looked on the tree. Some things are just too fragile to
survive in this world.
Isn’t that how much of life is?
We experience fleeting moments of joy or satisfaction, but we can’t hold onto
them or the people involved—except in our hearts as we savor the memory.
Just as I anticipated more joyful
times, I had hopes of finding more sand dollars. Maybe even during that trip. That
day. Remembering Heidi’s admonishment last
year, “But you have to go out early,” I bundled up and took off for the beach.
was in for a wonderful surprise
and amazed at what awaited me. By the time I returned home, I had as many small
sand dollars as I could hold in both hands.
To top it off, I found an orderly
array of perfect specimens spread out on the counter that Terry had collected
on another part of the beach.
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| We were sand dollar rich. |
That was the only day we found
sand dollars. Since then, I’ve pondered why that morning was different from all
the other days I had diligently searched.
- Maybe the winter surf is
different.
- Maybe it’s the season for sand
dollars.
- Maybe I’ve never gone out quite
so early before.
- Maybe it’s all of the above.
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| Or maybe, some days, God just wants
to surprise and delight us. |
Wherever you are, whatever your
desires, I wish you a day filled with joyful surprises.
Let
heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
Psalm 69:34
.
Copyright © Reflections from Dorothy's Ridge 2015. All rights reserved
Labels: Beach Combers, Beaches, Divine Surprises, Navarre Beach, Sand Dollars
