The Ocean
I just returned from another FLAME class. FLAME is Fellowship of Leaders Acquiring Ministerial Education. I took the class on church leadership and management. (For the record, once I complete the course requirements, I only need 2 more classes for ordination.) I always return from these events with my spiritual batteries re-charged. I appreciate so much the atmosphere and times of worship. The prayer times were awesome! I am planning to attend the FLAME in November and looking forward to it.
Two years ago, I took our oldest son to North Carolina, to a FLAME class. We had a good time. When my class was over we went to North Myrtle Beach. Neither of us had seen the ocean. We got our feet wet and collected some sea shells. I took a video of the sunrise.
This time I took our daughter with me. She had not seen the ocean, so after class we went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was a totally different looking ocean, as the wind in front of the hurricane was blowing in strong. We got our feet wet and sandy, but couldn’t stay long. We also really liked crossing the Chesapeake Bay on the Bay Bridge. It was really pretty on Sunday. It wasn’t so nice on Thursday, but we were ready and took pictures and video.
It was the same ocean, but it looked very different -fairly calm and warm the first time, dark, stormy and rough the second time. Sometimes the same situations in life look totally different. To one person, all they can see is the storm on the horizon. Another person will see beauty in the storm. We should probably all look for the beauty in the storm.