Day 1 getting your eye in

 Another Lent another blog.  This one is going to be a listening to God one rather than a study one,

2024 was a very eventful year for me.  I lost my Mum at the very end of 23 and her funeral was how  I started the year,  Then there  was her house to sort out, contents to deal with, probate to sort and house to sell in England.  At the same time a couple at church announced they were moving away for work for a couple of years and on the spur of the moment we decided to rent their house, get our own house completely rewired and put it on the market.  So 24 years worth of 'stuff' got sorted, packed and moved. Then our own house needed to be completely redecorated after the re-wire before putting it on the market.

Phew, Im an old lady these days. Im surprised I survived!

The house we are living in at the moment is great. Its two minutes from church.  And about 12 minutes from Hollywood beach - a lovely long bay overlooking the port where boats are regularly arriving and the view is always picturesque.  Ive been trying to go there regularly as the beach has been my place to decompress ever since Portobello days.  Ive missed beach walks over the past few years.

Hollywood beach is a shell beach.  Its funny isnt it, that the same sea on the same coastline can make totally different beaches.  Newcastle beach which is only a few miles round the coast is a stony beach.  Not that it is completely stones, but its where I go to get Jesus stones. Because stones and driftwood are always on that beach, hardly any shells.  

When I walk down the beach in Hollywood I find myself picking up sea glass.  Lots of it. Ive got a big jar of it at home and Ive no idea what Im going to do with it but Im a bit of a magpie and I cant resist collecting it.  Its pretty, and it feels a bit like finding treasure 

 

The other day I was on the beach at sunset. It was lovely.  Lots of people walking dogs and kids in the playpark. I was strolling along with my eyes fixed on the sand scouring the piles and drifts of broken shells for sea glass.  As I was doing this I felt God say ' its about getting your eye in'.  And I thought of the people who look for counterfeit notes, studying the real ones so that they know when they come across a fake.  Im good at spotting sea glass - even the tiniest pieces - because Ive been doing it for years on and off.  Sometimes I still reach down to pick something up and find its a shell or a piece of plastic.  But mostly I spot the glass among the rest.   

Im sure you get the metaphor. Seeing what God is doing is a matter of practice and experience and discipline.  You have to decide to go to the beach, look and not be bothered when you pick up something thats not the real deal.  You just toss that back and keep looking,  Im never going to find sea glass in the park. If I want it I need to be in the right place.  To find it regularly I actually had to move house!  And Im not going to find as much at high tide. so timing is key.  But mostly its about looking.  Because the glass is always there.  Sometimes theres alot and sometimes only a few bits.  But Ive never come home with empty pockets.

So for the next 40 days Im going to try to listen, watch and pick up whatever God lays in my path.  Id encourage you to do the same.  If He says anything exciting and profound Im always more than happy to share these pages with you . Just message me and I'll give you a guest spot 😀

Happy hunting.