7 Life Lessons From the Beach

There’s something special about the beach. There is a spirituality about the way the salt water ebbs and flows, the way the sand shifts into a different natural sculpture every day, and the way the sun looks as it peeks over the horizon each morning, then slips away to its evening resting place each night. When we’re younger, the beach teaches lessons like: 1) sunscreen may prevent tanning, but it also prevents painful burns, 2) regardless of what you’re told, nothing but time really stops a jellyfish sting and 3) if you hang out by the pier, you’ll get closer to the good-looking surfers! In our adult years, though, the beach teaches us more lessons about life than any of us could have possibly imagined. These are five of those lessons.

The sun really does rise every morning.

Sunrise is the moment when night becomes day. It never arrives at the same time and no two are alike. The sun may race over the horizon in a brilliant fireball or creep in slowly, held back by stubborn clouds. Sometimes, the sunrise is hidden behind gloomy skies and storms, and you must take it on faith that the sun is there. Life’s days are like sunrises. They may start out with a brilliant burst of light or they may begin sluggishly, held down by illness, aggravation, or anxiety. Sometimes, the sun is hidden behind the swirling storms of life. The beach teaches that just because you can’t see the sun in your life, it is still there. You must take it on faith. Each sunrise represents a fresh start and a new opportunity-- to conceive and pursue a dream, to help someone or to reach out for help, to write, compose, create, invent, build, sing, date! The sun always rises on an opportunity to do better, be better and live better! Don’t waste your sunrise!

You can’t learn to swim in shallow water.

There’s something magical about watching dolphins swim off the beach. You’ve probably noticed they don’t swim in the shallows. They swim in deep water. Swimmers know that deep water is where you must be strong, know how to swim, know when to go with the current or fight it, when to tread water or swim like the dickens! You don’t learn to survive life’s deep water by staying in the shallows where it’s safe. Jesus told Peter to “launch out into the deep” and when he did, there was a catch so big, it almost sank the boat! Sometimes in life, if you want to learn when to tread and when to swim, when to go with the flow and when to fight it, how to make the big catch or see the big blessings, you must leave the safety of ankle deep water and wade into the deep. That’s where you learn to trust Him and hold onto Him. There’s no telling what you might find in the scary ol’ deep-a spiritual moment of growth, a net full of provisions, or an amazing blessing God has waiting for you. So, take off your wading shoes and dive in!

Saltwater stings, and heals.

Have you ever gone swimming at the beach and gotten saltwater in a wound? It stings! But, it also heals. Funny thing about that. Sometimes we must go through some pain in order to heal. When we are physically or emotionally wounded, we learn the healing process isn’t always easy. During the healing, we may have to face situations, people, or memories that sting. Life’s saltwater takes many forms. It may be tears, or prayer, or counseling, or even a “time out” from the painful circumstance of person. It almost always hurts. But, if we let the saltwater of life cleanse and heal us, the pain may lead to a newer, healthier, safer, more spiritually sound self. We may find it is taking us to a better place. It may not be the place we envisioned, or the place we though we wanted. But it may be just the perfect place at just the perfect time that God has designed for you.

Running on soft sand is hard, but it makes you stronger.

Shutterstock.com

Runners like pounding the beach when the sand is packed hard. When the sand is softer, the runner must work harder, run more slowly, and put more into the journey. The upside is that running the “hard race” yields greater results, like more burned calories and a stronger heart, lungs and legs. Like the runners on the beach, Christians run a daily “race” and it is not always cushy. Jesus promised tough times-- soft sand to so speak. He also promised help from above. When you step out in faith into the soft sand, every step you take brings you closer to God, makes you a stronger person, and a stronger witness. When you see life’s challenges, or soft sand, in front of you, don’t be afraid of it. Face it head on. Put one foot in front of the other and push your way through, keeping your “eye on the prize,” which is coming out stronger on the other side.

There’s safety in numbers.

Fish swim in schools. Scientists tell us they do that to protect themselves from predators and to improve their hunt for good things, like shelter, food, and mates. Like fish, we all need somebody. In our world, we call it a support system. These are friends or family who surround us, move with us through troubled waters as protection, or through calm seas as companions. These “school mates” often see predators, or danger, more clearly than we do and can alert us to the need to change direction or move closer inside the circle of protection. They also alert us to the good things and good people. There really are plenty of fish in the sea. No need to go it alone. Find a good school, and start swimming!