The sky is the soft blue of a
robin’s egg, the clouds a cottony white, shadowed in muted gray. There’s a
breeze, but the clouds are strangely still, as if snapped on a background
photograph above the sandy beach scene. The grass in the sand dunes sways ever
so slightly, with the darker green bushes dancing a smooth waltz in tune to the
ocean breeze. The salt air cleanses my lungs, allowing my breath to slow to its
own natural rhythm.
Clarity. I seek clarity on these
girls’ weekends at the beach, and this time we are given a gift of the
perfectly bright summer day, blending in perfect unison with our energizing
meal of friendship. Our shared stories are the yeast, working all through the
dough to make it rise. Faith is often lost in the complexities of our life’s
experiences, and our foursome’s experiences span more than 240 years in total.
That’s plenty of time for muddied emotions spanning from fear to loss to pain
to joy, blended into this concoction of clarity which can only be seen through
the common lens of faith. The brown mud of our minds shift into life-giving
earth, the hidden seeds of promise and hope and purpose finding a new crevice
through which to grow.
There’s an unusual sense of
completion in our team of four, pulling all aspects of laughter and love into
the present moment, reminding us of the view at the other side of this life
through this shared lens of faith, glorious and beautiful.
Ahhh, clarity.
