Jellyfish

I got to hold a jellyfish this week!

My team took a four-day retreat to be together, reconnect (after team leaders had been gone for 6 weeks), talk, laugh, share meals, relax, and reflect on how God has been with each of us during the challenges that came up in 2019.

We stayed in a house on the beach. Quiet, peaceful, beautiful. It was a perfect getaway from our wet, moldy houses.

The last day there I took one final walk along the beach by myself. I spent some time mulling over a myriad of thoughts and talking to God about them.

As I started off, I was in a weird mood. Too many thoughts, confusion, uncertainty, etc. But as I walked, the beauty of the ocean, of creation, of God's presence wrapping around me, brought peace. I watched waves, like green, transparent glass, break on the shore then melt back into the vast ocean spread before me. It felt a bit like my heart. Broken a few times last year, but always pulled back, whole, into the vast ocean of God's love.

Reflecting back on all of the problems that came up last year I could say one thing with certainty. I never felt far from God's presence. I could always feel Him there with me, holding me, carrying me through each trial. The words to a song floated into my head and brought warmth to my soul.

"Is it ever gonna be, ever gonna be brighter?

Is it ever gonna be, ever gonna be easier?

Hold her tonight

Oh, God, would you hold her tonight?"

It almost felt like someone was singing it over me. As I continued along the beach humming that song, I spotted a jellyfish rolling on the beach as the waves broke around it. It was intriguing. I wanted to hold it.

As I held it, I was fascinated by it's beauty and creativity. A masterpiece of God's handiwork. Weird, unique, fragile, potentially dangerous, luminescent. I brought it back to show the rest of the team before I left it to rest on the beach and returned to face whatever 2020 may hold for me.