This weekend, we camped for five days – our first trip of the season. It was without a doubt, our best camping trip. The girls are older and able to do many things for themselves. We stayed longer than we usually do, allowing ourselves more time to relax and appreciate the campground and all it had to offer. We spent time together and gave each other permission to go off and find some solitary moments.
One moment in particular struck me as profound. It occurred along the beach as Emma and I wandered along, looking for shells. We camped in Michigan at Higgins Lake State Park, so we were not looking for exotic sea shells, just little, abandoned snail shells and tiny clams. To our left was the lawn that leads to the water. With our bare feet, we couldn’t easily walk there; the pokey grassy and sharp pebbles were too much for our tender feet. To the right was the water; incredibly cold after a storm the day before. This left us with the narrow strip of beach where the sand was slightly warm from the sun and soft under our tender soles.
I glanced at the sand and saw the path of footprints Emma left. Her feet were bigger than I realized and walking away from me. Her steps were shallow from her light frame and wandering as she searched for the little hidden treasures.
I began to think that perhaps God looks at my foot prints in a much more profound way. He knows where I will go in my life and most likely shakes his head and laughs (or sighs in exasperation) at my wanderings. He notices that my steps are light some days, and on days that I try to carry more than my share of troubles, my impressions in the sand are deeper. He smiles at us as we walk that narrow path, staying out of the prickly lawns of sin and the cold waters of temptation.
In a nut shell (or should I say snail shell?) I believe that I notice more of God’s grace and understanding after having spent some much more time in His Word and at Mass over the past year. And who wouldn’t?
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