Beverly Beach at Sunrise

Wednesday morning I woke up early.  Hallee would wake up at 5:00 or 6:00 AM every day.  I looked outside and it wasn't raining so I decided to walk over to Beverly Beach.  It was a little scary walking over there in the dark, but totally worth it!

I took off my shoes while I walked along the beach.  It was pretty cold so early in the morning, but again, totally worth it.

The sun was just starting to come up when I got to the beach. 

I'm so glad I went down early that morning because the rest of the week it was so cloudy that you couldn't see the sunrise.

I love how the light reflects on the beach.

I loved having this time to myself to just take everything in.  

The sounds, the sights and the sand between my toes were amazing!

Look at that, it is breath taking!

I realized one of the reasons that I love the ocean so much; I feel connected to heaven at the ocean.

A lot of time it feels like the heavens are closed, but while I'm near the ocean it feels like they are wide open.

I took some time each morning to watch the waves and ponder different things. 

One thing I thought about while I was there is empathy.  I think one of the hardest things we face in this world is watching people we love suffer.  I am an empathetic person, so I feel what other people feel and it is overwhelming.  Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with worry for other people that I move into judging them so I won't have to feel so sad for them.  I also go into fix it mode and think I know what they should do.  I especially do this with my kids. 

I realized that Christ experienced and suffered through everything we would go through so that he could understand and succor us in our pain.  He knew He wouldn't be able to stop us from feeling pain and experiencing hard things, but He was still willing to feel it all so He could sit with us in that pain.  It is so hard to love someone and watch them suffer, but that is what we all need.  We need to know we are important and that our feelings are valid and that what we are feeling and thinking is okay. We need to know that we are loved.

I decided I'm going to work on just trying to understand people and what they are feeling. I'm going to try not to judge or offer solutions, but just support them.   

After I enjoyed the sunrise I sat down and read for a little while. It was still pretty early so I wasn't in a rush to get back. 

I love the beautiful designs that the water makes in the sand.

I finally decided I better head back so we could get out and enjoy the sunny weather while it lasted.  I love the forest that you walk through to get to Beverly Beach, it's so pretty.