Sand Dollars

SAND DOLLAR SURPRISE

~ Dorothy Johnson ~ 6 Comments
Navarre Beach, Florida



Well, it happened again. Recently on my morning walk on the beach, I caught myself looking in the same old places for that elusive sand dollar.

Do you ever do that? Find yourself doing the very thing you vowed never to do again.

I told you about my near obsession with the tiny fragile urchin a couple of years ago in The Elusive Sand Dollar and how I realized the hunt was causing me to miss many of God’s other creations, plus it was stealing my joy. 

I don’t think I got home with this one intact.

I must confess that when I made the decision to stop searching for sand dollars, I had the thought that maybe once I gave up the hunt, I’d come upon another perfect specimen just out of the blue—you know, like a little God-Surprise. 

Since that Aha Moment, I’ve concentrated on enjoying whatever I encounter on the beach. But old habits die hard and sometimes sneak back in, which is what happened that morning.


Until I caught myself.

And stopped.

And laughed at myself.

And gave myself a talking-to: Stop it, Girl. Look at what God’s doing TODAY. 


Anyway, this time, I renewed my resolve. Then Terry and I got busy, and the beach renourishment project (which I’ll tell you about soon) closed our section of the beach so I haven’t been put to the test yet. 

However, the most wonderful thing happened yesterday. Our friends, Bobby and Karen, drove over from Perdido Key to have lunch with us. They came bearing gifts: flowers and not just one but a pile of tiny sand dollars they had discovered on the beach. Karen said there must have been hundreds.


And she kindly shared some with me.

Just part of the sand dollars they picked up

The gift made me laugh out loud at my friend’s generosity and our gracious God’s sense of humor.

My generous friend, KD

Thank you Karen.

Thank you, Lord. 

Dear God, please send Karen and my readers a special surprise today. 

Give them the desires of their hearts.


God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life! 

Genesis 1:21a


If you’d like to learn more about sand dollars, The Echinoblog is a good place to start. Or if you’re lucky enough to happen upon one of these fragile beauties and want to preserve it, go to SeaShells.Org.


Copyright © Reflections from Dorothy’s Ridge 2016. All rights reserved

SURF SURPRISES

~ Dorothy Johnson ~ 8 Comments
Navarre Beach in late December

Last month, Terry and I visited Navarre Beach twice, once early in the month and again during New Year’s Week. Winter on the beach is a new experience for us.



You may remember that I found a sand dollar during that first visit. I turned it into an ornament for the little tree I put up in the condo.

On our second visit, I undecorated the tree and packed up our Christmas decorations. 
 





When I took the sand dollar off of the tree, I’m certain that I didn’t drop it. In fact, I‘d swear I placed it carefully on the top of the chest. But the next time I looked down, it was in pieces. 

 Maybe it imploded?


You may also remember it’s not the first time one of those little treasures has crumbled on me. I was more philosophical this time and concentrated on being grateful for finding it in the first place—and for how cute it had looked on the tree. Some things are just too fragile to survive in this world.


Isn’t that how much of life is? We experience fleeting moments of joy or satisfaction, but we can’t hold onto them or the people involved—except in our hearts as we savor the memory.

Just as I anticipated more joyful times, I had hopes of finding more sand dollars. Maybe even during that trip. That day. Remembering Heidi’s admonishment last year, “But you have to go out early,” I bundled up and took off for the beach.



was in for a wonderful surprise and amazed at what awaited me. By the time I returned home, I had as many small sand dollars as I could hold in both hands.  

 

To top it off, I found an orderly array of perfect specimens spread out on the counter that Terry had collected on another part of the beach.

We were sand dollar rich.


That was the only day we found sand dollars. Since then, I’ve pondered why that morning was different from all the other days I had diligently searched.

  • Maybe the winter surf is different.
  • Maybe it’s the season for sand dollars.
  • Maybe I’ve never gone out quite so early before.

  • Maybe it’s all of the above.

 

Or maybe, some days, God just wants to surprise and delight us.



Wherever you are, whatever your desires, I wish you a day filled with joyful surprises.


Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 
Psalm 69:34
.

Copyright © Reflections from Dorothy’s Ridge 2015. All rights reserved