Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Broken Pieces (Beach 2014)

Our first full day at the beach...well, let's just say it wasn't typical "beach" weather for Spring Break.

Or, maybe it was typical beach weather for Spring Break, but it wasn't the weather we were wanting...or what we had expected based on previous trips.

And, not gonna lie, taking Joshua out of his routine is unsettling for him...and, because of that, it can be unsettling for everyone else. But we all tried to include and encourage him...and to expose him to as many new things as possible. At times, it can be a struggle. We'll say with excitement, "Hey, Joshua! Let's go for a walk on the beach!" And you can just see it in his expression, "why?"

Because this day was not sunny. And it was cold. And windy. And it may or may not have been sprinkling on us while we walked.

Joshua is not a fan.

You know what ELSE he's not a fan of? Looking for shells.

I brought a baggie, and Holly and I helped Joshua look for shells. Again, I could just see him thinking, "why are we doing this? I don't want another dumb shell..." but we pressed on.

The walking and the looking and the choosing and the PICKING IT UP FROM THE SAND...all really good for Joshua.

I held the baggie and walked with Joshua. If I saw a shell that looked really pretty, I would pick it up and put it in the baggie. It didn't take long, tho, to see a BIG difference in the way we chose our shells.

I was looking for the perfect ones. You know, the ones that weren't chipped...that didn't have one of those fossil looking lines on it...the ones that had a pretty color. I was looking for a WHOLE sand dollar.

But Joshua?  I would see him...bent over a bed of shells. He would look and look, and then pick one up to put in the bag. Everyone one of them...broken. If you took ten of the pieces he chose, you MIGHT be able to make one decent shell...but it would look terrible.

To me.

Hmmm...

Joshua would pick up little pieces and not care if they were whole or unblemished. In his eyes, each piece had value.

I don't know if it's human nature to want the perfect and the beautiful...or if it's just me. But it was a huge reminder of how there is beauty in the broken...in the imperfect...in the missing pieces...and I, of all people, should know that.

God has been making beauty out of my broken...for my whole life.

"The LORD has made all things for Himself..." Proverbs 16:4

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