Week of Thanks: The Saturday Gratitude Journal at Topsail Island
- tathelmillerwriter
- Aug 5, 2018
- 2 min read
“Granna, there’s not going to be any seashells left in the ocean,” he said in his soft concerned voice.
The shoreline has been filled with an abundance of shells this week and this grand baby boy of mine, all of five years old–he is a noticer and a quiet thinker. I explain to him there are still millions of seashells left in the ocean. And he believes in something he can not see. And we sit in silence as the wind blows against his fresh freckles which stretch across his nose watching the ocean and the shells come to shore.
Another year. Another blessed week of enjoying time together. My kids and their famlies and my grandbabies.
On Thursday at approximately 10 in the evening, 103 baby sea turtles hatched and made their way to their new ocean home. These babies were three days overdue on their birth date. I visited their nest for several nights once I heard they had reached their 60 day birth cycle and it was expected they would hatch any day.
And I was terribly disappointed I missed their journey to the sea but what I am extremely grateful for is what I witnessed the days prior to their birth. The care and compassion of some kind-hearted souls who every night, they would wait. In fellowship. In laughter. In conversation. For the same cause. Working together. The Topsail Sea Turtle Patrol. They would get to the nest around dusk and wait until nightfall, clear the runway and patiently answer questions for us onlookers who were curious enough to stop on our evening strolls on the beach.
And this week I have so much to be thankful for. So many moments. So much grace.
Laughter of my three grandchildren
A porch that overlooks the ocean
Waking up to the sounds of waves greeting the shore
Seashells
Early morning sunrises
Baby Sea Turtles
Hearing my almost one-year old grandbaby boy Wyatt yell, Da-dy and watching my son come running. Both wearing the same smiles.
Safe travels
The cashier at the gas station as the sun illuminated her smile. “Thank you to the Good Lord for the sunshine,” she said with a loud shout. “Please Lord, bless us with it all day.”
Time spent with family
Quiet moments with God
It seems as though the week of vacation–time speeds up. And I lost a day this week somehow thinking it was Wednesday all day and it was actually Thursday. Bummer to say the least when I found out we only had one full day left.
But shouldn’t it be that way though? Not been disappointed, so to speak because of the lack of time. But grateful for the time we have remaining when spending moments with family, even if the time is for a week, a day, or a few short minutes. Time should never be a thought, only a thankfulness, when surrounded by those you love.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land.
Psalm 95:2-5
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