April 1, 2014 Good Morning God! by Diana Fredenburg

Do you ever feel that you take some things for granted? You know what I am talking about; you get caught up in the day-to-day struggles of family, work, school and don’t think about what could change tomorrow.  You wake up and it is a new day, but so many things seem to be the same.  The annoying man you see in the coffee shop or the co-worker who always talks and never seems to listen. Cooking, cleaning, homework, work...same old, same old.  The weather, though different, is still something we have to plan and deal with, especially this past winter.  You get the idea.   As I see it, it all comes down to time.

Some of you know I am not a morning person.  If I had my way I would stay up until 1:00am and get up around 9:00am.  However, when I am at the beach, I am still the last one to bed, and the first up, dressed in my beach attire with camera and bag for collecting shells crossing over the dune no later than 5:45am.  Yes, you read that right, 5:45am!   Many mornings I am on the beach before the sun has broken the horizon.   I crest the dune, the waves crashing in front of me.  The sometimes-not-so-gentle breeze whispers around my head.  The smell of the ocean tickles my nose.  I feel the coolness of the sand around my toes.  The crabs scurry to their holes.  I feel alive… at peace.  I am alone, but not alone.   I am aware of all around me.  Every grain of sand seems important to me.  Every morning there are changes in the beach.   The clouds roll across the vast sky as it changes colors, pink, orange, yellow and red.

I begin my walk to the pier, it is calm, serene, a feeling I do not get anywhere except the beach.

I catch myself smiling, feeling every breath.  And then the conversation begins…

God: “Good morning Diana!”

 Me: “Good morning God!  How are you today?  Thanks for this beautiful day and bringing us safely back to the beach. Thanks for taking care of all of us since last year.  Hey, do you remember…….? I did feel your presence, but I might not have thanked you, so I am thanking you now for your help.”

God:  “That’s okay, I knew.”

Me:  “Of course you did!”

God: “Is anything bothering you, my child?”

Me: (I look down and see one set of footprints in the sand) “No, God, I know you are with me!”

May we slow our lives down, if for only a short while, long enough to notice the beautiful changes in the world around us, feel his presence, and hear his voice over the noisy traffic and say, “Good morning God!”