Life lessons- I learned all over again.

We just returned from a family vacation. We rented a beach cottage just south of St Augustine Florida and stayed there for the week. Despite having worked the midnight shift for years now that I ride a desk as a detective I have found the joy in being a morning person. I enjoy getting up early around 5 AM. At the beach I went for a run along the beach each morning. I would stay out there and listen to the waves and watch the sunrise. It was a magnificent sight. I am amazed at the wonder of God’s creation. There is so much order and brilliance to the design of His creation.
As I sat along the beach wall I was impressed to review several aspects of my life. My marriage, children, faith, career were just some of the things I would think about. I tried to prioritize things and set them in order each morning of the week. As each day passed by the inevitable return to the routine of everyday life got closer and closer. As much enjoyment came to me sitting there each morning I began to long for the return of being home.
So, I learned (truthfully, I would have to say I “re-learned”) some life lessons sitting there contemplating everything before me. First, life is best enjoyed day by day. Take time to stop and enjoy the moment. The moment will not last forever. The kids grow and change every day, compliments fade away in time and youth grows to experience as time passes by. I learned this watching the sunrise each morning. Each morning the sunrise was different. That first morning the sunrise was incredible. None of the rest had the same effect on me as the first morning sunrise.

Second, share these moments with those you love. We should take time to give to those we are closest to. This means stopping to give your opinion, knowledge and experience to them. The most important people in my life are my family. Because things change it is essential for them to know how we feel about them. After the first morning I would return from my run and wake up a family member to come watch the sunrise with me. We would talk and share time together while the world woke up around us. It was a special time I hope they each remember. I will always remember these times and I know they impacted me.

You know, here’s the interesting part… the sun comes up each morning. For a dozen years I raced the sun home each night from working the midnight shift. When I was late getting home and the sun was already up I would be upset, not only being late but knowing how much harder I would have to work at going to sleep with the sun up. If I had only paused to enjoy the moments… now I wish I would have stopped to wait for the sun to come up. I could have had these experiences and relearned these lessons a long time ago.

These are two pictures I took on the beach during vacation.