staycation

I had the idea last night. As of noon today, all of the work I needed to do would be done and I was going
to the shore. My first time all summer. It's been a long season of working hard, loving the best I can, and holding things together with very limited funds. It's the limited funds that really prevented any kind of traditional vacation and I could feel the tired in my soul.

So today I hopped in the truck all by myself and drove south with nothing but a change of clothes and the latest GQ.

Each opportunity that I have to spend the day alone finds me watching people. I do it fairly naturally. Like some alien scientist, I watch them move and interact. I find them fascinating and beautiful. I am an invisible part of a great community. In the distance I could see the skyline of New York City. It provided a backdrop to the frolicking children of God gleefully challenging the ocean in front of me. There, life is hard...expensive. Here we were on vacation. Everything here is alright.

As evening fell I found a stand that sold fresh oysters and enjoyed the flavors of being alive while my skin tingled with the cooling breeze.

What an amazing thing to be alive.

The boardwalk was jammed with people...I moved among them undetected like Nicolas Cage in "City of Angels". Leonard Cohen sang "down the shore everything's alright" and tonight he is right. Humanity is beautiful. Back on the beach, fires are lit and people are gathering to roast marshmallows. I'm watching people live in peace.

I think this is what God had in mind.

In fact, I wonder if he walks among us like this sometimes. I believe he does. If people take the opportunity to open their eyes and see him he is shockingly visible. He's moving among us whispering "This is how it's supposed to be". "Perfect days are your birthright". "I made you for love".

As I grow older and understand God's voice clearer, I find I'd rather be a gardener than a builder of empires.

Cities require building. Brick and mortar built so high they block out the sun.

Gardens require tending. They live in communion.

God made a garden

We build cities.

Tonight my heart muses on Eden