The Ocean

I love the Ocean. Today I sat on the beach here in Ponte Verda, and took in the cool winter sun and watched the waves come in and go out with such a rhythm I just found myself staring. It was one of those afternoons that the hours quickly passed and as I went back and forth from reading my book to gazing at the waves I could sense my thoughts just travel.

Growing up in CT I was exposed to the water as a young child as my grandfather took us out on the sailboat often. I remember jumping into the water as a girl being caught by my dad and just carried along on the currents. There is just nothing like the sting of the salt water on your sun kissed face, or the sounds you hear when you dive below the surface. I long for the ocean sometimes, and there are few places in the world that I can sit for such lengths of time and just stare out into its mass beauty and power. 

When I moved to Virginia in 2003 I had the notion of moving to the coast and enjoying a milder climate with the Atlantic nearby. Yet, the Lord called me to the mountains and that is where I have built my life and created my home for the past four years. I did not love the mountains at first, but slowly the Blue Ridge sky line and majesty of the area stole my heart and captured my attention in a way I did not think possible. While my heart is in the Ocean to this day, my life belongs to the mountains...and that is something that only the Lord can do with this childhood water lover. It's amazing how our plans and destinations for our lives change as our callings are heard in different capacities. I wonder if I will ever find myself owning a cute cottage on the water, or if my life's happiness will always be contained in the mountain ranges I now love. 

We live in a country with such varying climates and skylines, that I am often impressed with the fact in a matter of hours we can travel from one cool day to a hot blazing one just by jumping on an airplane. Having spent so much time this fall traveling I have enjoyed the rambling hills that lead to flat farm land, the ways that the highway carves in and out of valleys and up to mountain tops...and now how the water can great you and remind you of a place you used to live and a childhood wonder you used to have while bobbing in the ocean.