Ah yes, it was beach weekend. The start of my vacation and I was looking forward to spending it with my kids and doing a little family bonding. Some other family members and friends of mine were also with me for the day. It was going to be a great beach day!  After an exhausting two hour drive just getting there, my body was ready to just unwind and finally have some fun.  I got into the water to just toss the frisbee around. I remember soaking it all in. It felt like a glimpse of paradise, nothing but blue skies, not a cloud in sight, I couldn’t ask for a better day.  I was definitely enjoying the moment but my moment of paradise did not last for long. In fact, if this was a movie, you’d start to hear the ominous music begin to play in the background. There would be a shot of me tossing the frisbee ever so gleefully, then there would be the close up of the water and the camera would suddenly take on the point of view of something lurking in the ocean. The camera would pan back to me again, smiling and laughing like an innocent school boy during recess playing with my friends.  Then the ominous music would resume again and finally the camera would pan underneath the surface of the water to my foot. Closer and closer the camera would appear to approach the harmless and innocent foot just jumping for joy and then another quick shot of me but this time a look of panic on my face. Suddenly everything slows down, we would see the frisbee coming towards me in slow motion, smacking me right in the head and then a real dramatic moment of me screaming like a madman full of excruciating pain. Nothing but sheer fright, and pandemonium on the faces of everyone around me as they all scurry about the water trying to make a mad dash towards the beach. Meanwhile, you’d see me crawling on my belly, just grasping the sand in desperation as I try to slither my way up the sandy slope to the beach tent.  Then the camera reveals my battle wounds as we the audience gets a glimpse of the blood oozing out of my left foot as it barely dangles from my leg.  Oh the horror the horror! Wouldn’t that make for a great movie scene? I know, I know, it’s Jaws 1,2,3 and 4.  Well, it may not have been as dramatic as that but it did really happen to me, well, kind of sorta. It definitely felt like I was in a scene from a Jaws movie that’s for sure. The shark bite or whatever it was got me right on my left ankle.  It felt like teeth clamping down on my left foot and then it quickly released itself. I thought it would probably come back for a second helping but  thankfully whatever it was, Moby Dick didn’t find me too appetizing.  The next thing you know, I’m hobbling my way to the beach tent and all I could see was blood all over my foot. Quickly, my family got chairs for me, propped my foot up and rinsed off the wound giving me a paper towel to stop the bleeding.  What started out like a promising day of beach relaxing fun, ended up becoming one of the most painful beach days I ever experienced in my life. I pretty much sat around for the rest of the day, feeling like Jimmy Stewart in “Rear Window”, confined to a wheel chair living vicariously through the lives of others,  with my foot elevated, eating pretzels, watching everyone else having fun without me.  Well, the pain did finally subside but unfortunately it  wasn’t until it was time to go home that it started to feel better. I know, it could have been worse though.  I like to joke and say it was a shark bite but later I learned there were crab traps nearby and so it was determined the wound was probably caused by a crab. I still like to think it was a shark bite though.  It’s much more heroic to say you’ve lived to tell the tale after being attacked by a great white, than it is getting bit by a teeny weeny Red Lobster appetizer.  However, I  realize that if it was a shark bite,  I probably wouldn’t have had a foot at all. I’d be walking around with a wooden leg looking more like Long John Silver, “aargh”!  I laugh about it now but at the time it happened, it really messed me up. In my mind I just kept thinking to myself, why is this happening to me God? Am I jinxed? I just want to enjoy my family, why is this happening to me? But as I reflect now on it, I realize now the lesson to be learned. Sometimes life just isn’t fair and sometimes life can be cruel and we are going to go through times that are going to be painful. But instead of questioning God and asking Him why, we should be asking God what can I learn from this? And what I learned from this, was even in the painful times, we should still be thanking God regardless. The Scripture tells us to be thankful continually, to give thanks in all circumstances.  It also says to rejoice always. I’m sorry but that’s not always easy to do. No one wants to rejoice or be thankful in the bad times but all circumstances means all circumstances. So, why in the world should we be thanking God in trying circumstances? After giving this much thought, I believe that when we complain and are bitter about our problems, we start to tell ourselves that we lack and are not good enough. We begin to attract negativity into our lives like stress which is never healthy for the body at all. But when we start thanking God, we are in essence saying to ourselves that we truly are blessed and we have everything we need. We begin to alleviate stress and in return this causes us to live healthier lives. God is our Creator, He knows how we best operate. If He says to be thankful continually than we should listen. This does take faith but the opposite of faith is fear.  I’d rather live in faith being hopeful for a better tomorrow than wallowing in my sorrows dwelling on the pain of yesterday and fearing for tomorrow.  Fear stunts our growth but faith pushes us to move forward causing us to grow from our painful circumstances. Now that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy getting bit in the foot by some sea monster but when I find the things to be thankful for, like a foot that is still intact then that will help me to keep things in perspective and I will find that I will be able to move forward and grow from this experience in my life.  There is no gain if we don’t experience the pain. It’s true in working out in the gym and it’s true in life. We don’t need to pray to God for painful experiences or suffering but if we go through it, we know we have a God that can relate with us, help us to endure it and we will ultimately grow from it, becoming better people in the process.  So the next time you find the trials of this life biting you in the foot, just remember don’t complain about it but choose to be thankful instead. You may not see it at the time but there is purpose in the pain and God will always carry you through it all.  Soon, you’ll discover that your paradise on the beach is not really hard to find, it’s closer than you think. It’s right there with you wherever you go, always in your perspective. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I don’t know about you but I love myself a good breakfast on the beach. Eating pancakes, sausage and eggs with a cold glass of orange juice, or a hot cup of coffee. It’s also even better when you are with a special person or friend to share it with. There’s nothing like watching the sunrise, worshipping God and saying good morning to the sunshine and the blue skies or as my eight year old daughter would say, “Good morning sunny and bluey.” Ah, the summertime is finally here, and if you live in Orlando, Florida like I do, there’s really nothing to do outside but fry eggs on the sidewalk, or melt in the hot sun waiting for five hours to ride your favorite Disney ride.  So, I’d rather go to the beach.  For me, there’s nothing like getting the chance to escape reality, to refresh the soul by listening to the soothing music of the ocean waves, the sights, the sounds, the smell of the air, it just makes me feel closer to God. I feel like a child again enjoying God’s playground in the sand. Not so long ago as I’m writing this, Memorial Day Holiday kicked off the summer. I saw many of my friends on Facebook, post pictures of themselves at the beach.  There was one Facebook post that really caught my eye. It said, “while I’m enjoying my weekend at the beach, I will never forget those who sacrificed their lives on a beach for my freedoms”.  The post was in regards to the D-DAY invasion where our American troops first set foot on European sand to combat Hitler and his evil regime.  If you ever want to get a realistic look at what these men went through for us, watch the opening scene to the movie “Saving Private Ryan”.  It is a very painful but powerful re-enactment of what actually happened. This moment on the beach was such a pivotal point in the war, that it helped turn the tide in the Allie’s favor and eventually led us to winning the war.  It’s so vital we always remember their sacrifice or else we will forget and take our freedoms for granted. As I was thinking about this, I also thought about another pivotal moment in history that also happened on a beach. This major event also has huge implications for us as believers in Christ. It was actually a breakfast on the beach. Not just any breakfast though.  That’s right, in fact it’s found in the New Testament, of the Gospel of John. The famous breakfast on the beach between Jesus in His resurrected body and the now disgraced disciple Peter.  Why is this so important?  To give you a quick background, Peter had just done the unthinkable sin.  On the night that Jesus was crucified, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Just as Jesus predicted, the rooster crowed and Peter after remembering what Jesus told him, ran away to hide and wept bitterly.  This same Peter who would do anything for Jesus, even cut off the ear of the guard trying arrest Jesus, was now a coward, hiding away in his shame.  I’m sure Peter thought to himself, there is no way that Jesus would sit down to share a meal with him, especially after he betrayed Christ and claimed he never knew him.  However, Jesus invited Peter to share a meal regardless. There’s a wonderful exchange between Jesus and Peter. If you only read it in the English language, you’ll miss out on the truth of what is really going on. Jesus asks Peter do you love me and Peter tells him he loves him. Jesus then tells Peter to feed his lambs.  But what’s interesting here is that the Greek translation for love that Jesus speaks about is the word “agape” and that means unconditional love.  The greatest love someone could ever have for another. Yet the word that Peter uses to express his love for Jesus is the word “Phileo”. It’s where we get Philadelphia from and it is a lesser love than “agape” but still a deep love, more of a brotherly or friendship love.  Again this important exchange is repeated with Jesus using “agape” for love and Peter using “phileo.”  Finally,  Jesus says to Peter “do you phileo me?” And again Peter says “ I phileo you Lord”.  I believe that the reason Jesus asked Peter these questions is that He was testing his heart. Remember,  Peter was always the one who was the first to say that he’d die for Christ, or the first to jump out of the boat and walk on water. Jesus even had to rebuke him for saying he would never let Christ die. Jesus had to literally say, “get thee back Satan”.  It’s not that Peter didn’t love Jesus but his intentions sometimes were not that pure. It was more about Peter sometimes than it was about Jesus.  It was more about Peter wanting to prove that he’s the greatest disciple who really loved Jesus the most. So, Jesus wanted to test him and see if it was still that same Peter He was dealing with. But I believe that after all that Peter went through, he was eventually humbled and all he could say was “I phileo you”.  We see that his heart truly had changed. In essence, Peter was saying to Jesus, you know I can’t unconditionally love you Lord. I can’t and I never will be able to. That’s huge for Peter to get to that point of humility and to admit this. Peter had finally understood his need for a Savior. Peter had to get out of the way for Jesus to finally be able to really use him.  Sometimes too many of us think we can live for God but the truth is we can’t. We will only end up making it about ourselves instead of Christ. It’s when we finally get to the point of humility, where we realize we need His unconditional love more than He needs us, that we will discover, we will do much more for the kingdom of God than we could ever do in our own strength.  Peter’s relationship and his ministry was reinstated that day and it was not because of anything Peter did, but simply because of Jesus and His “agape” love for him. So, if you find yourself on the beach this summer, take a moment or two, to remember that interaction between Jesus and Peter. If it wasn’t for that breakfast, there wouldn’t have been more than three thousand people in the book of Acts giving their lives to Christ in one day, all because of the boldness of Peter. That same man who denied Christ was now front and center declaring not his love for God but God’s unconditional love for him and for all of mankind.  This man’s heart, his humility and fervor for God, sparked the movement of Christianity and it’s been going strong ever since.  So, the next time you find yourself at the beach, think of this.   As you play in the sand and listen to the ocean waves, listen also to the voice of Jesus declaring His unconditional love for you and remember the sacrifices of the men and women like Peter, who came before us and gave their lives for the gospel, so that you and I can enjoy our freedoms in Christ today.   Who knew that all of this would be made possible for us, all because Jesus took the time to serve Peter a little breakfast on the beach.  And still to this day, Jesus calls out to us sinners to partake in this breakfast. A breakfast served up with unconditional love and grace, a breakfast of champions and all we have to do is sit with Him and eat.

John 21:12 New Living Translation (NLT)

12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said.