The Beach!
I’ve been dreaming about the beach. We made our reservations for our summer trip to the beach last week and I now have the rental agency’s page about the house open in a tab on my computer so I can look at it any time. We missed our beach trip last year since we went to Disney. Disney was amazing, don’t get me wrong, but I really missed that laid back relaxed week at the beach. There’s just something about the constant sound of the ocean, the wind, the sun, cooking together with family each night, eating fresh corn and going out for a great seafood meal that makes my summer complete.
And I get my beach week preview in a few weeks at the Wright’s Chapel Women’s Retreat! We’re going to a new house this year and I’m so excited. It worked out to actually be a little less expensive than the one we’ve gone to for so many years for the retreat and this one is oceanfront! I look forward to the retreat each year as a time to get to know other women at Wright’s Chapel, to study together and worship together, pray together and create together. Yes, we also walk on the beach and listen to the waves and get our beach fix.
In many ways, the two trips are similar. I can enjoy the majesty and beauty of God’s creation. I can relax and renew my spirit. I can enjoy the company of family – whether biological or church family. I can cook with others and eat yummy meals with them. Yes, for one trip I am working and I am leading a retreat, but I also get to experience the retreat in some ways. I get to be away and I get to help form the community of women that will only be together for a few days but whose bonds will last long after we leave that beautiful setting.
I have a lot of work to do before the retreat and even more before vacation. But I can still dream of the ocean.