community

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matt. 11:28

As Memorial Day approached, I found myself with no plans. I longed to go to the beach, which for me is the place I find the most refreshing and the most honesty. Then I get a phone call from a friend...want to go to the beach? And bonus, it's a group of about 50 people who are going with the specific desire to rest in the Lord. Didn't take much convincing for me to say yes. The only "worry" I had was not knowing more than 2 people out of the 50 going. But how could I not go, when God so obviously put this opportunity in my path?

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Heb 10:25

I went, and God did amazing things. Most amazing to me is that this trip was planned by a bunch of friends, who then invited their friends, and invited their friends, etc etc. til it grew to a group of 50 or so people all united in one vision of taking time to build community and focus on God. All through my life, I've gone on organized retreats or conferences...but this was a trip organized by a small group with a purpose. It was so refreshing to be around so many people my age who had this kind of focus and direction. Community. Meeting together. Gathering together. Community is something that we all crave. Everyone I met was so nice, and so clearly in love with Jesus. I don't surround myself enough with this kind of community. And I'm so excited about the connections I made there, how many of these relationships continue to build even though we're so far from the beach now.

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 5:19-20

Every morning, we had devotions, prayer, and singing. Totally optional, but the house was standing room only at this time. How cool! And then my favorite moment of the weekend, Sunday night worship on the beach. So dark that you couldn't really see anything but outlines of people, white crests of waves, and stars in the sky. We sang for 2 hours, song after song in praise to God for His creation, for His work on the cross, for His work in us. After worship, I walked down to the shoreline and took in how vast the world is, how small we are, and yet how amazing our God is to actually love each one of us so much, so much that He died so that we could live...so much that He knows the exact number of hairs on our head...so much that He hides us in the palm of His hand. And then I thought of creation and how His Spirit moved over the waters. And there I was at the waters, meeting God, praying & singing. It was a really powerful time of reflection, and of honesty. I say honesty because every time I am at the beach, I'm humbled by the beauty and the vastness. It makes me take a good long hard look at myself and where I am, and helps me think about where I'm going. I would live at the beach if I could. But then maybe I'd get overwhelmed thinking too much! hehe.