I took my four kids and my second son’s best friend (who I usually refer to as my extra 5th bonus kid) to our local beach hangout this morning. While they were all playing and I was kicking back in my blue beach chair, I couldn’t help but be a tad bit overwhelmed by the wonder of it all. I grabbed my phone, opened the notes app, and this just kind of spilled forth.
God of the Universe, Maker of the Waves…
Thank you for the ocean and thank you for sand.
Thank you for pools and water slides and deck chairs.
Thank you for boogie boards and pool noodles, buckets and shovels.
Thank you for seashells and sand castles.
Thank you for braids and scraggly-haired buns.
Thank you for swimming lessons and swim teams and the doggy-paddle.
Thank you for gentle waves, toes sinking in the water, and baby powder to rub the sand off.
Thank you for board shorts and rash guards and little bums that can’t hold down a bathing suit so well.
Thank you for sunscreen in a can and in a stick and cool, green aloe gel for when forget.
Thank you for saltwater and chlorine, for sand and for cement.
Thank you for brothers & sisters and friends who are like family.
Thank you for sunny days, bright blue skies, and rainy afternoons to rest through.
Thank you for watermelon in the cooler and gas station slushies on the way home.
Please, Lord, in your goodness…
Keep our children safe in the water.
Help us to be brave when they want to try new things.
Let them not forget every single lesson they learned in school last year.
Remind us that stretch marks and soft bellies are the mark of a mama and that our children think we are beautiful.
Lead us not into too much screen time, but deliver us from the complaints of boredom.
Bless us all, our families and friends and communities, this summer.
We praise you for these things and all of the good you provide.
Amen.
