Thinking on the beach

I sat on the beach, soaking in the sun and looked out at my family. My family. How did I get here? How can I be this old and have four children when I still feel about 12?

That's how old I was when I thought my dreams for life may be unattainable. Yet God chose to become real to me then too. He gave me hope by showing me a wonderful promise in His word, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) I decided right then I would believe Him despite the odds I saw ahead of me and set out to please Him, trusting Him for the rest.

Fast forward over thirty years and I'm lying on a beach, relishing the sight of my own family. My husband is helping our older daughter hunt for seashells, my boys are constructing some kind of sand fortress and my youngest has made "a little sea friend" (one of the best "Keeli-isms" to date).



I've been married over twenty years and a mother for seventeen, so why does it still catch me by surprise that I have a family? And not just any family, a really great family. How did I get teenagers willing to ride the carousel and Dumbo ride just to make their little sister feel important? How did I get kids who wanted to make sure I got to do the things I wanted to do and who missed going to church as much as their parents? Why did God give me a husband who understands that the best vacation for me involves him taking care of all the details? Realizing my life is way more than I imagined it would be when I was 12, I can't help but think, Wow, God, look what you did. Thank You so much. You truly are faithful.

Thank You, Lord, for this incredible gift, this family. I couldn't have planned it better myself.