Day 3: Reflections at Kure Beach

 Day 3 Reflections at Kure Beach

Rain. I knew that it would eventually would come. I can't remember any week long beach without at least one day of rain. I don't mind the rain since it forces me inward, pausing my pursuits of outdoor hedonistic activities. The splash and drip on the deck beckons me to stretch out and snooze. I may yield to that primal call but it is still early in the day and I will try to fend off slumber until after lunch. A nap too early could thwart a really worthwhile one in the afternoon. Tomorrow means hitting the road and a return to normalcy, whatever that means in this season of retirement. All of us huddled in the house are content to slug around, intent on low stress actions,  Our minds are want to linger here in the drizzle and the pooling puddles of rainwater. However, hours away the burdens of home wait lurking in the shadow of the future.  

Day 2: Reflections at Kure Beach

Just down the road from our house is Fort Fisher and the Armed Forces Recreation Area, a place that holds precious memories for me. The spring after my mother passed, Dad rented a house, (the Lazy Lime, Megan called it) and we gathered for a short family vacation. It was definitely different without Mom, but her jovial presence still made itself felt as we spent time with our loved ones. Time, that most precious commodity, was shared, not it memorable adventures or actions but in short, small installments of life. The long weekend passed to quickly but it culminated with the most wonderful  Easter morning I can recall. We went to the local beach to take in the sunrise and a near by church had set up a cross on the beach as centerpiece for their sunrise services. God meet us there! The rising sun warmed us as we reflected on God's goodness and his assurance that Mom was with Him, worshipping a manner we will never be able to understand on this side of glory. Jane captured the moment with a picture of the cross backdropped by the rising sun. It hangs in our house as a beautiful reminder that though we all must endure storms, God promises await those that remain faithful in spite of our moments of doubt and fear. 

Day 1: Kure Beach

Early morning at the beach usually is ushered in by a stillness that marks the place and time peculiar to this setting. This familiar placid scene offers a break for my soul. My usual constraints dissipate against the gleaming ocean that periodically manifest long, rolling waves. The low rumble of their break is the background sound that the spring birds tweet their melodies against. The occasional rumble of cars and trucks remind me that this second-floor vantage point is temporal for me, miles away from my ridge top homeplace. My eyes relish the obscured sun, the haze of grey clouds wisped and streaked against the blotched out azure sky. It is a privilege to return to the where land, sky and water meet, blended by our creator into an expanse of shimmering light, color and an infinite backdrop where the sky and water become one.