Back to the Beach

There's nothing quite like the first day back to the beach after an endlessly cold and snowy winter. Even though the breeze was chilly and the water frigid, it felt divine to have the smooth, soft sand between my toes while watching the boys play together by the seashore. Almost perfect..... until I lost my keys. And yes, I panicked, and even lost my temper (as B attempted to run into the street while I searched through my bags for the sixth time). "Please, God, let the keys be here!!" I muttered as I looked through the sand-laden beach toys. And what do you know? Even though I lost my patience and probably used His name in vain more than once, God answered my prayer. Right then and there.

No, the keys were not in my bag. Instead, he sent me an angel. A wonderfully concerned passerby noticed my frenzy and decided to ask if she could help me out. She volunteered to walk back to the beach with me, boys in tow, to help see if we could spot the missing keys along the way. We retraced our steps, and just as I was convinced the keys must've floated out to sea--never to be seen again--I hear her yell "We found them!!" Actually, D is the one who found them buried under the sand where we had been sitting, just a teeny tip of my little flashlight sticking up from the surface. I thanked her profusely for being so kind and she smiled and returned to her afternoon walk.

She took the time to help out a complete stranger, to offer her assistance, to speak kind words of concern and encouragement. Yes, it was only lost keys we were looking for, but she helped me find even more. She helped me discover hope where just moments ago only anger and frustration had resided.