Shoreline

There's something about sitting on the beach, no matter the season, and watching the tide. The wind brushing against you, the waves as they finally grasp the edge of the shoreline just to get pulled right back into the ocean.

How many times do our lives feel as if they are doing the same thing?

I know so many people who are going through some very difficult and trying times this holiday season, and others who are finally seeing the much needed blessings come after their long trials have finally seemed to come to an end.

But isn't that what life is generally about; the trials and how we pull through them?  Dont the trying times of our lives form our character, and strengthen our trust in the Lord?  If we never needed to be rescued by Him, how would we ever know that He could, or would for that matter? We all know that God the Father gave His one and only son, Jesus Christ, for our sins and that whoever believes in Him has everlasting life, but I think too many times we take this sacrifice for granted. We just expect it and think His love stops there, never realizing that God's tears at every trial we encounter create the current that lovingly pushes us closer and closer to the sand. 

And how would we know what we are truly made of?  The shells and sea creatures we carry along with us and deposit on the shore's edge, painting a different backdrop with each powerful drop of water against the sand. Each one of our lives is a work of art, and the things we carry along with us and deposit upon the shore are what its made of.