Knowing How To Celebrate

Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

This past weekend I spent a lot of time in the sun. I don't normally get to the beach, so when I do I try to enjoy myself as much as I can. Although, these past few summers I've had more of a chance to enjoy the beaches, and outdoors in general.

Whenever I get outdoors I find that I reconnect with God in a very special way. This past Saturday, my wife and I spent the late morning and early afternoon on the west end of our island at a birthday party on the beach, and the rest of the afternoon and evening on a beach at the south end of our island with our church's youth and young adults. We were with friends and family and friends of family and family of friends. We watched children at play, laughing as they chased one another on the sand and into the water. We got into the water and held on to each other. We watched the sun set, felt the cool breezes, engaged in conversations both serious and benign.

It was a true reconnection with one another and with God at a very deep level.

By the end of the day we were tired, sunburned, dehydrated; mentally and physically drained. But, my wife and I couldn't stop talking about how great the day was. In the words of the psalmist, we were doing the celebratory shout. It wasn't how loud we said talked about the day, or how many words we used, our shout was about how powerful our personal spirit felt about our love for God.

There are more beach days coming this summer. There will be more sunsets and moments with my wife in the water. More than that, though, there will be more opportunities to be with God. Excuse me while I do some shouting.