God’s Love

Above is a picture I took of one of my most favorite spots to go visit. It is Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is within an hours driving distance and when I feel the stress piling on, I often will be found asking my husband to take me there.

On this particular day, I was at the beach by myself because my husband wanted to hand out some blankets to the homeless. I was dropped off at the beach and began my walk……first on the bayside and then on the lakeside. I climbed a little sand dune and this was the beautiful scenery that greeted me. It was breathtaking. I was in complete solitude and felt the weight of the world just fall by the side. Joy began to fill the stressed out areas of my mind as I listened to the waves crashing on the pebbles and the seagulls laughing in the wind.

I was reminded of Romans 8:37-39:

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I was able to go home full of peace and joy knowing that God is in control of my life and He loves me and will never leave me.

If you are feeling stressed or feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, I encourage you to go outside and really look at God’s beautiful creation. You can find joy in the birds chirping, the leaves rustling about in the wind, and even the squirrels stealing your birdseed. And soon, if you live in the north like me, you will be blanketed by white, fluffy snow.

You can find joy in the little things. May you be able to find Joy in today.