More Than Fine. (Complete)

28- MTF Joy to the World

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     Safe travels. I'll be praying that you have a great trip in spite of the sadness. That was the text Nick had sent the previous morning as she was waiting for her flight to board. Now as Gia looked out her window past the marsh to the sun rising over the ocean she imagined all that sadness washing out with the tide. Today she was regretting leaving her new journal at her apartment, but the day before all she wanted to do was hide it away to keep from thinking about Nick and her disappointment with the way things were between them. Maybe writing her thoughts and feelings would help her release them. Instead she went through her suitcase and pulled out her sketch pad and pencil and began to capture the scene before her.

     Watching the ocean always seemed to put her life into perspective. Knowing this water flowed into the Atlantic Ocean and around the world reminded her how small she was in comparison to all of God's creation, and yet God still cared for her personally. As she sketched the page come alive with the ripples and reflection of the sun on the water and the marsh in the forefront. She held the sketch pad back to admire and decided it was finished. Whether it was or not, she longed to slip outside and walk barefoot in the sand. The temperature was still nippy this early in the morning, so she would need to bundle up, but she couldn't wait to get out there. The day before had been filled with activities with Evie's family and she'd not gotten a chance to walk along the beach. After almost seven months she needed to feel that sand between her toes. It always relaxed and calmed her. The sound of the waves, the feel of the sand, the smell of the sea air: it all brought back so many good memories.

     Gia stood and stretched. Looking around the room she smiled. Evie's family had given her this room to stay in once she sold her grandfather's small home. She brought some special pieces of furniture that she had kept from her parents home and her grandfather's. Things that reminded her of family and happy times: a small China cabinet, a chest of drawers, her parent's night stands, a bookcase. Since her internship was only for one year, and the apartment was so small, she and Evie had decided buying second hand furniture was much more reasonable than trying to drive a moving van with furniture all the way from South Carolina to New York City. So other than a few small knickknacks and stuffed animals, her memories were all here and in a storage unit nearby. These things calmed her and gave her a sense of place.

     Smiling she tugged on some leggings, a sweater, and jacket then quietly slipped outside without alerting the family gathered in the kitchen. This was was she needed to start her Christmas Eve off right, alone time with God on the shore.

     Flip flops and beach towel in hand, Gia strolled down the sandy shoreline. She pulled out her phone and opened the Bible app to the scripture she'd found earlier: Psalms 104:24-30. "O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground." The words flowed from her mouth to God as the wind whipped through her hair. "God, I give it all up to you. Every desire for Nick, or even to have that perfect relationship. I give it to you. I will learn to be happy in you and the things you have given me, rather than longing for what I don't have. You have given me so much and blessed me in so many ways. Let me rejoice in that. Even the beauty of this very beach is a gift! And to think, I have the privilege to be here and see and experience it."