saying goodbye to Papa {part II}

The sky was a soft color of haziness. There wasn't much of a breeze. The smell of salt water and the moisture left on our fingers as we gathered the prettiest of shells and rocks seemed to refresh our souls.

We "combed" the shore for an hour. Inspecting, tossing, keeping, and even sharing the beauty found under the surface.

How often do we really look beneath the surface to see the beauty that's really there? How often do we slow down long enough to see what's been right under our feet the whole time?

How often do we brush off the hardness to see what's been hiding? How often do we hold treasure knowing and believing that it is really that? That treasure is anything and everything you take the time to pick up & hold onto?

I don't do it enough. Oh, how I wish I did, but I don't.

I don't remember to look past the rocks to find the shells. And I'm often so busy looking all around me, that I miss what's been right in front of me all along.

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We spent a good amount of time that day just being. Being cousins. Being grand-kids. Being adventure seekers and explorers of a world we've grown to love.

We smiled and chased and even just watched.

We pedaled, we slid, and we kept our balance the best we knew how - even when our hearts were aching a bit. Aching at the thought of what was to come.

And you know what, I know that we did everything we were supposed to do.  Before we went to the hospital that day we lived.

We played, we imagined, we made friends, and we even took time to smell flowers that really don't smell so great.  We were together & that's all that mattered.

I think when you know that life is about to change you should always hold on to that which gives you the strength to get through it.  Sometimes it's people, sometimes it's a place, and sometimes it's a little of both. For us, it was a place to play with the people we love most. A place to accept that which we were unsure of with the childlike faith we're called to have - trusting that His best was on the way!

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That morning was the best gift we could have given ourselves. We were slow & unhurried. We found treasure that was worth discovering. We brushed past the exterior and uncovered more of the world that God wants us to see ... the world that is beautiful on even the cloudiest of days that is a gift just waiting for us to truly live in!