Missing Southern California

This morning I woke early, ready to get outside for a run. The last few days have been really warm in Budapest, filled with summer weather and absolutely wonderful! Imagine the shock and surprise to find it POURING outside. Although my new potted purple flower plant is loving the precipitation as it hangs outside my door, I'm a little bummed. There are some things you just have to be mentally prepared to do and running 4 miles in the rain is one of them for me.

I've really been missing Southern California the last few days. Here's a few pictures of Redondo Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes, a place I called "home" for four years of my life. There's something about the Ocean and the sunshine that's medicinal. (I love that word! Especially when using it in the context of things that are actually not medicine, but bring life to the soul! I think I like it better than therapeutic.)

The fact that I'm landlocked for the summer in Hungary (except for the Danube river which is brown, not blue) could be a bit of a downer. But don't get me wrong! I love Margaret Island and Budapest is absolutely stunning! I'm a very thankful girl. This summer I'll spend some enjoyable time by the pools at Margaret Island and hopefully make it down to Lake Balaton as well.

But this past week, for whatever reason, I've been reminiscing of former days when I lived 5 minutes from the ocean in Southern California. I used to run along Redondo Beachwith a friend named Melanie. Mostly, Melanie and I would run along Redondo Beach (above) but occasionally I would run in Palos Verdes by this cool lighthouse and along the cliffs (below). Depending on the level of early morning fog, there were times when it was absolutely stunning! And on some mornings when Melanie and I finished our runs, we would rendezvous at Starbucks for a delicious coffee :D I almost always tailed it to the local Starbucks - with or without her.



Besides working out along the coast, the other thing I loved to do here usually after work or sometimes early in the morning was park my car, read my Bible and whatever book I was reading at the time and journal like crazy as I listened to the ocean waves crash along the shore. It was as though whatever challenges I was facing at the moment completely disappeared. All my concerns and fears were washed away in the sea of new thoughts, new perspectives.

I often took time to consider these Bible passages in Proverbs 8:29
"....He gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep His command when he marked out the foundations of the earth."


and in Job 38:8-12
"Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb?.... I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place when I said, "This far you may come and no further; here is where your proud waves halt. Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place?"


This brings me to another musing that I've been having this past week. As I consider my life, my friends, my experiences, one thing continually rings true. Things in life change. People change. Circumstances change. Life is full of change. Sometimes we have to change - our perspective, our lifestyle, our work or personal life strategy, our character and we may not enjoy the transformation. Sometimes others have to change and we may not like their transformations- as they change their perspectives, lifestyles, strategies. As much as I love being "flexible" and enjoy the thrill of the adventure, I'm also a creature of habit. I get up in the morning usually around the same time to enjoy my coffee and freshly squeezed OJ as I read and start the day. I like routines, schedules, programs that I can work with and then I like the flexibility of mixing it up now and again. :D But I do like routine. So when things change in life it's easy to feel a bit unsettled and undone. Sometimes even the slightest changes can cause a bit of unsettled shifting.

One thing that brings me incredible confidence as I consider all of this is my faith in Christ and in His plan for my life and the lives of those around me. To know the one who set the boundaries of the ocean brings a level of confidence to my soul. He can handle whatever I'm going through, whatever others are going through around me, and I can lean on Him for strength and security.

When insecurity about the future begins to prevail in my heart, I remember that storms (hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones) come and go but the boundaries of the ocean remain. Much like those waves that only go so far, there's a deep seeded confidence that no matter how out of control things may feel or look in life, my confidence in Christ and His prevailing purpose is what I'm holding onto in this world of change. Though everything around me may change, God is eternally the same. He is good. I may not always understand all of His ways but He is good, trustworthy and I see this in the power of ocean boundaries and I believe it. This gives me an unending resource, much like a well of water in a desert that I can draw from each day. And I guess that's why I love the ocean because I see His goodness and power in the boundaries and in the beauty.

Next time I visit I have to get more pictures! Those of you near the ocean, would you do me a favor? Take some time to sit and journal for me, drink some coffee, read a book, enjoy the sunshine and the people you love and send me a mental picture:D