The Man on the Beach

There are things I've wanted to write for awhile now. Years, maybe. Parts of my story. The story of God's faithful pursuit of my sanctification and faithful pursuit of my good. There are parts of my story I still don't have clarity on and am waiting for explanation that I know I may never get. But there are ways God has so clearly demonstrated His never-ending love for me that they need to be put in writing and maybe even shared. So this is the first attempt at that because God has been bringing this moment to my mind a lot lately and I realized it's not something I've shared because I think I easily went on from it.

It was May of 2011. I was in Florida for a long weekend staying with the couple who had been mentoring me for about 9 months. Ironically, I was at the house of my future husband's grandfather. I hadn't even met or heard of Devin at this point. He wouldn't enter the picture for a few more months.

I was in Florida because, well, who turns down a beach for a few days with two of your favorite people? But it was more than that. I was escaping from a couple situations I didn't feel ready to face. It has been a hard couple years. Post college, single, working, and trying to heal from so many things and also needing to be free from a relationship that had plagued me since I was 15.

One of my best friends was recently engaged to the man of her dreams. She was getting everything she wanted and I was thrilled for her, but her happiness was enhancing the reality of my own grief. There was self loathing for sure, but mainly it was a time of change and letting go of what I had pictured for my life, and it was hard.

I went to the beach early one morning to walk and pray and listen to music. I sat down in the sand and was talking to God about my life and future and seemingly out of nowhere (the beach had been totally deserted) a man walked in front of me. He said nothing, just walked past and kept walking away. As He walked past, all I could see was the back of his shirt, which read Jeremiah 29:11(For I know the plans I have for you...plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.)

Sidenote: I'm not a big believer in asking God for signs. I don't think opening up the Bible randomly or seeing a literal sign on the road is the best way to discern His will. Because, the problem with signs is that we often "find" what we're looking for, like how when you get a new vehicle you start seeing that same vehicle everywhere.

But I hadn't asked for this. I hadn't asked God for anything more than the grace to trust in Him to work in my life. But for some reason he chose to give me a literal sign, in the form of a man on the beach, and a verse that I needed to believe so badly.


I can't remember what that man looked like or anything else about him. And I still feel like he literally just dropped out of the sky and walked off. Regardless, there was no doubt in my mind, and still isn't, that God spoke to me directly through that ugly t-shirt (it had eagles on it and was hunter green). Even more, I love that God gave me this on the very beach that I would return to with my husband and my kids. A beach Devin had fished on countless times in a place that was so special to him. 


These are the things that are meant to strengthen our faith; to help us know more securely that we serve a living, intimate God. These are the stories we are to write on our hearts and tell our children of His faithfulness. 




11 comments:

smw said...

This made me sob. I relate with your 'sign' skepticism, but have also been the recipient of comfort in a similar way. I'm still waiting on mine-probably explains the sobbing. So neat to hear how yours happened, knowing how things have turned out. :)

Linda said...

I loved reading this as I don't remember hearing it before. It brings tears and a deep thankfulness for God's love and faithfulness in your life. This was no coincidence....this verse, this place, this family.

leah said...

this is SO beautiful, thanks for sharing with us.

rejoicing in God's faithfulness He has shown you in this moment (and always!) and the grace to remind you of it. :)

L, Ann and boys said...

needed to read this today :)

Daveana said...

This is so neat Em! Thanks for sharing!

sarah.flyingkites said...

This is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

Christen Leigh said...

I'm always so amazed at how personally God pursues us when we need it the most--so cool!

Sara Huber said...

Telling our stories of God's faithfulness is something we all need to do more of I think. This is great.

Betsy said...

Funny that you also remember how ugly the t-shirt was (tee-hee!) but this is a great story of how God speaks and comforts his people. I would look forward to any others you care to share in the future. :)

Daish said...

Awesome. I love this God of ours! I'm so thankful for Him. He's my friend.

Daish said...

p.s. I sound like my mom.