The steady breeze enveloped me as my toes hugged the bleached, warm sand. I welcomed the sight of the waltzing waves and the restful sound of them rolling and crashing onto the shore.
We staked our spot with an oversized, stripped, wooden umbrella and brought along munchies, magazines and music to pass away the time. What we least expected was God whispering a story that would educate generations to come.
As I sat down, I closed my eyes and slowly inhaled and exhaled the same. For the first time, I invited someone else to partake in my yearly ritual of relaxation and people watching.
As three beautiful girls in their early twenties strolled along, Maurice took in the nearly flawless sight as did the four bachelors sitting in front of us. Then, the Lord began a great download. Using the activities on the beach, a heavenly play unfolded:
Act 1
I said to Maurice, “Those girls are beautiful aren’t they?” He chimed in, “Ahhh…Yeah!” I smiled.
The Lord had me to say, “This is what they’re imparting into the world at this time in their life. Everyone enjoys their beauty, men and women alike.” Maurice gave me a questionable look, which forced me to explain.
I continued, “Women might appreciate a particular piece of jewrly, style of bathing suit or hairstyle.” And speaking through a chuckled, I quipped, “Only the Lord knows what’s going through the minds of the men.”
Act 2
Occurring simultaneously after the scenario above, the Lord had me to focus on another scene.
Sitting to the left of us was a young family, the mom, dad and a toddler with huge, golden locks of hair. For some time, we’d enjoyed the antics of the little guy giggling while running after the seagulls, throwing sand at his parents in full chase and building a sand castle.
I pointed in the direction of the family and singling out the mom the Lord had me to say, “ Now, consider her. Although her figure has changed, look at what she’s birthed. Her son has entertained us and for over an hour; we’ve enjoyed his antics on the beach. Recognize what she’s put on the earth for us to enjoy. This is what she is imparting into the world at this time in her life.”
Act 3
The last act in this heavenly drama began to unfold as an older couple holding hands strolled by.
The women with hanging, wrinkled skin look to be in her seventies. Wearing a wide brim straw hat, large rim shades and a black swimsuit, she and her beau glided along.
If energy could speak, it boasted that they loved one another and were content in their relationship.
Then the Lord had me to say, “Now that’s the matriarch. Even though her outer beauty has faded, she could have thirty to forty children, grand children and great grand children under her.
The theatrics ended here, and I realized the show wasn’t for me but for Maurice and for men in general. The Lord’s summary:
When you marry, enjoy the beauty of your wife’s body. Knowing when the children come, her body will change. Don’t focus on the difference in her body; instead, enjoy the children her body suffered to give you.
In her late years, time’s effect on her body will show, but you will have your own tribe, your blood tribe. If nurtured properly, this tribe (children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) will surround you giving you companionship, support and love.
Stay in your lane. The older man would not be in a position of walking on the beach with the wife of his youth, enjoying his lineage under the same roof had he moved from woman to woman as some men do. Don’t fall for the “midlife crisis phenomena,” jumping out of your mid life stage trying to get back to your youth. Be joyfully present in each stage, each bringing fulfillment, one should not trump the other.
I believe the Lord used me to tell my boyfriend to go back to his wife, whom he had divorced years earlier. What an awkward position for me. Some time later, Maurice and I broke up and he remarried his first wife a few months later.
The bible in Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” (New King James Version).
My response– indeed!