The Grace of God in Salt Spray and Sweet Non-Essentials

Some weeks (months?) ago, I told you that I was aiming for a regret-free summer, and that, for me, that means a lot of beach-going. Since we live 15 minutes away from, oh, 15 or so beaches.

I’m never going to not have some regrets, alas, but it has been a beautiful summer.

We’ve eaten *whatever* for dinner so that we could go to the beach.

I’ve said, “it can wait” to writing, to laundry, to cleaning, to home-schooling so that we could go to the beach.

And now the days are growing shorter and cooler, and guess what?

There is still food to be cooked, posts to be written, laundry to be washed, children to be taught…

And what do we have to take with us into fall? Tanned arms, tanned faces, toughened feet…

…and some seriously happy memories of life-in-the-moment.

Life lived by the side of the sea, the sea that’s always changing and yet, somehow,

Always the same. Have we met God there? I think the answer is yes.

God, and the Mister Softee truck. Because what is the beach for, but meeting God

And tasting all the goodness and grace of God in salt sprays and in sweet non-essentials?

There are still 9 days left. What will you do to enjoy the last bits of summer?