*This is a story about a youth groups' trip to the beach as related to me by some of the senior guys on that trip and told in my words. :)
Recently a youth group went on a trip to the beach. They were originally headed to Gulf Shores, AL., but the 69 day strong oil spill re-routed them to a little place called Corpus Christi, TX. Now, not to knock the beaches of Texas, I myself have had some incredible experiences on those beaches; but the students of said youth group seemed to of been expecting beaches that resembled a little more Florida and a little less not. The first day they arrived in Texas, a series of unfortunate materialistic events occurred that they fearfully hoped did not set the tone for the rest of the week. They were not in condos- as they had been told, they were in hotel rooms. They did not have a view of the beach, their rooms looked out onto the street. They did not have a balcony to harass locals, but had a 5 foot double-pained window. The TV in their room was made in 1979. And to top it all off, the beaches weren't sandy, it was blazin' hot, and the water wasn't cold or as blue as they had expected. In fact, they couldn’t even walk on the beaches without wearing shoes because instead of sand, the beaches were covered with shells, and to walk barefooted on the shells would leave one's foot cut and bleeding and no one enjoys having bloody feet while at the beach.
There was one glimmer of hope that shone brightly that day though, they had been told that residing in their same hotel that very week were some Varsity Cheerleaders. Finally, they thought, this trip is going to be fun! After hearing the news, they wistfully climbed into the elevator to "check out" the lobby and hopefully get a glimpse of some ponytails, pom poms or ribbons. When they arrived though, all they found were 12 year old girls-with their mothers. They decided to check and see if the Cheerleaders were outside, practicing maybe. Still, all they saw were more 12 year olds with braces...and pom poms. Their hopes were dashed, dashed like the shells on the dangerous beaches outback.
With their shoulders slumped and their heads hung low, the senior boys of the youth group sauntered into the hotels' ballroom cheerleader-less for an hour or two of worship with the rest of the students. Who they didnt expect to join them in the crowd that night was God. Not only did God show up around them, but He came and impacted each of them in a way they never expected. It was powerful and perspective changing. His presence made them realize that the beach and all its materialistic aspects were only the second reason they were on that trip. The first reason they were there was to meet with God- and meet with God they did, He had just helped them out along the way by getting rid of some of the distractions that would keep their minds off Him.
Many of those boys walked away from that week-long trip in the presence of Jesus, changed, and changed for the better. His love and truth are written on their hearts and evident in their lives. There has long been a saying that goes: You know when someone has encountered the Holy Spirit because when they walk away, they are never the same again; they're changed forever. Those boys opened their hearts and allowed God to work in, lead, and heal them. Yes, the God of the universe met with those boys face to face and I dont think there are enough words in the human vocabulary to express the praise and thankfulness God deserves.
Personally, I hope my next beach trip looks cruddy on the outside, but is filled with the power and presence of God in every quiet and joyous moment.
Life's a beach,
Kate
*and I mean that to relate back to the story saying that Life can be hard but God is work in the cruddy situations for incredible amounts of blessings in His timing. :)
Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your throughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
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