Our weekend and more revelations

I have a very interesting family. Myself, I've lived here in the Hampton Roads area my whole life (except for the 2 years after we got married that we lived in Richmond) and have never really like the beach. You know, usually people that live in, say, Iowa or Kansas that never get to go to the beach, they LOVE it. The sand, the surf, everything. Me, not so much.

My husband and his family have always loved the beach. His parents are from New Mexico, so it's not a big surprise for me. Usually, I'll go to the beach maybe once a summer, and that's it for me. I remember when we were dating, he wanted to go to the beach SOOOOO bad, and I finally went with him. I'm not as enthusiastic about it, but I went just the same.

Now, if you've seen my picture, you may or may not be able to tell that I am quite fair skinned, and a larger than average woman. So getting sunscreen on every part of my arms and back is not the easiest task in the world. EVERY TIME I go to the beach, I fry. EVERY TIME. Expecially when I'm more concerned with getting sunscreen on my 3 year old and my hubby's head. They are fine, of course. But me? Shoulders and arms as red as a lobster. My husband thought it would be funny to sing the song "Rock Lobster" to me as he rubbed me down with aloe last night. Yeah, honey, hilarious. Poor thing thinks he's a comedian.

On the plus side, however, my son had a marvelous time, and we got some really good pictures. Yes, we took the baby, and he slept very nicely in the little sunshade that I got for him; it looks like a mini pop-up tent. Of course, I didn't read the directions that say to pour sand in the little outer pocket to keep the thing from blowing over; I sat there the whole time with my foot in the stupid thing so the breeze didn't blow it over. I put the diaper bag inside, but that wasn't enough. When we went to put the thing away, we found the direction. Go figure.

In another vein, Hubby and I have been doing a bible study together that has had very interesting lessons this week. For me, it's nothing that I didn't already believe in my heart, but now I think I can say that I believe it in my head, as well. The revelation? That God is a God of miracles, whether they happened in bible times or today. I have seen over and over in my own life how God works physical miracles (major back surgery at 25, a miscarriage, children that I thought I couldn't have, the list goes on and on), but I think God is telling me through this study that He works other kinds of miracles, too. His wonders are infinite, and we just have to have faith that He can and will. I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as "unanswered prayers", folks. It's just that sometimes the answer isn't what we want to hear, therefore we stop listening.

I pray that I will never stop listening again. Life is so much better when you just open up your heart to what the Lord wants for you. What God wants for you is always better than what you think you want.