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.