My Gift From The Sea

I recently went to Florida for a week on the beach. I went with a dear friend and stayed in their family beach home...........and midweek, five other friends arrived to stay a few days. It was a great time of relaxation and refreshing for me. Kind of a physical “rebooting”! I had been looking forward to getting to the ocean for many months. I am never more in tune with God’s greatness, beauty and power as I am when I am listening to the sounds of the water crashing along the shore and seeing a sunset disappear into the sea. Another friend sent me a card before I left that says, “There is a special joy in the wonder of the sea and a gentle serenity in its beauty for all who stop to meet God there.” This friend understands my heart and my need to refresh.



When I go to the beach I take along my dog-eared and highlighted old edition of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s Gift of the Sea, originally written in 1955. When I read it I join with her in her search for rest and reflection. It does my heart good to read the words of another who is wife, mother, writer, and very busy woman who escapes to the sea to “reboot”. Anne (I feel as though we are on familiar terms now) says she would like to lead the simple life but her “......frame of life does not foster simplicity.” She was the mother of five children. Her days were very full. Her occasional need for escape was assuaged by her forays to the sea. She goes on to say, “What a circus act we women perform every day of our lives.”



I find myself needing an escape now and then. I love my life. I have an incredible husband, children who are happy, healthy and changing the world each day and whom I adore and they reciprocate. I have the most amazing grandchildren, a beautiful home and all my needs taken care of. But all of those things..........those rich blessings.......come with a price. There is a lot of work and effort into making them happen successfully. I didn’t just develop a wonderful life because I am a nice person. I put lots of effort every single day into having deep, loving relationships, a home of peace and orderliness, making every effort to change the world in ways that often put a strain on my patience, stamina and soul. I simply have to carve out time to get away and regroup in a way that gives me the peace that often gets overshadowed by my efforts to accommodate and please the world around me.



Anne talks about how our days are so filled with overload that we are never alone. “We are so frightened today of being alone that we never let it happen. Even if family, friends, and movies should fail, there is still the radio or television to fill up the void.” For me, going to the sea and listening to the waves and the birds replacing the clamor and busyness of my every day routine takes me to a place of reverie that both energizes and relaxes my soul. I don’t take a radio, or my cell phone or an iPod or anything else that would disturb my reverie. I just listen. And listening to God’s nature has the soothing effect that is balm to my heart and soul.



Anne writes, “Every person, especially every woman, should be alone sometime during the year, some part of each week, and each day.................By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off............If women were convinced that a day off or an hour of solitude was a reasonable ambition, they would find a way of attaining it. As it is, they feel so unjustified in their demand that they rarely make the attempt.” Admittedly I am at a season in my life when I can give myself permission more often to take these breaks and enjoy more solitude and reflection. It is one of the exquisite blessings of aging and having worked hard and long to attain victory in my relationships and in my life. I give myself permission more often now to take my Gift from the Sea in a very tangible way.............and I am grateful to my friends, Candy and Liz for making way for me to “reboot” in Nokomis, Florida...............a true gift of friendship.

<</body>