The Beach is Calling My Name

It's September, kids are back in school, Labor Day is over, and North Carolinians will soon be heading to the mountains in droves for the changing of the leaves.  But instead of the mountains, the beach is calling my name.  I heard it clearly today when humidity levels dropped and Charlotte's temperature was in the mid-eighties. 

Beach vacations in September and early October means not having to spread my beach blanket within six feet of a chain smoker with a potty mouth, or a drunken twenty-something bragging to his buddies about how many beers he just drank.  I'm not kidding--that's Myrtle Beach in July, and it's not my idea of fun.  Skip forward a few months and it's a wonderful place to be.  When peak season is over, motel rates are good, the water is still warm, crowds are gone (except for golfers and empty-nesters), and the sun isn't so intense I get burned in fifteen minutes.

I love the beach at daybreak, when the sun's rays on the ocean make it sparkle like diamonds.  The only people on the beach are a few dog walkers, runners, shell collectors, and the occasional surf fisherman.  Stress melts away as I sit on a towel, listening to the rhythmic crashing of waves...no talking allowed for at least twenty minutes. 

It's comical watching little shore birds running to the water's edge, then retreating as if afraid of getting their feet wet.  Occasionally a large bird swoops down, disappears underwater, then emerges with a fish.  How do they do that, I've often wondered?  My only explanation, God made them that way, and that's all I need to know.  One day all the wonderful mysteries of His marvelous creation will be revealed.  Until then, I'll just have to wait, be content, and enjoy them.     

I am indeed thankful to live in the South, and fall is probably our most beautiful time of year.  I live in the Piedmont of  North Carolina, right in the middle, only a few hours from the coast and a few hours from the mountains.  Although I love both places, my favorite place to be in September and early October is definitely the beach.  Save me a front-row seat for sunrise...I'll meet you there soon.  

Genesis 1:9-10:
"Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good." - NASB 


Copyright 2011 Charlotte Laney