We just got back from San Francisco. One of the mornings there I was out for a walk along a coastal trail. I was trying to scope it out for my next mornings run. I was just enjoying the view and the walk when the trail abruptly came to an end. It picked up somewhere else I just didn't know where. To my left were some cliffs overlooking the beach and a red truck parked there, which kinda freaked me out because I was pretty far from civilization. It was also a foggy, creepy morning on the beach, one that you would see in a vampire movie (Twilight, or if you are old school Dark Shadows). There were two men in the parked truck, but I tried not to look or make eye contact in fear they were plotting my demise. So I walked to the cliffs edge to look around, then picked up my cell phone to call Adam so if they really were planning my demise I would be on the phone and he could know. The only problem...which I knew would more than likely happen...Adam doesn't pick up. He is in meetings and I am stuck on some creepy cliffs with men I don't know, and no one will ever know what happened to me. I leave a goodbye message for him, telling him I love him and the boys etc. I also tell him where they can look for me. Follow the coastal trail until it abruptly ends and look to the left where there are some cliffs...start the search there. After the message I pretend to stay on the phone a little bit longer. At this point the men have gotten out of the truck and are getting ready to do something. Now I get a good look at them, and they are two very nice looking ( nice as is in countenance nice) men in their 50's-60's with a really beautiful dog named Lily. They yell over to me, "Looking for a way down?". I said, "Yea don't really feel like jumpin' today". They said, you can follow us down the fisherman's trail if you want. At this point I know they are neither creepy, or plotting my demise, so I think to myself what the heck go check out the beach. So I did. And so starts, "A Morning with Bob and Marty".
Bob & Marty are friends who live in Grenada 4 miles north of Half Moon Bay. They come to the beach when the tides are low looking for rocks, shells, driftwood, and other treasures for their yards. Bob is retired and Marty is an Electrician in San Francisco. They taught me all about looking for these little treasures. They find fossilized rocks, that have seashells embedded into them and other really beautiful things. They have been doing this for years and love it. They know exactly what they are looking for, and where to find it.
I know this might seem crazy to some people, spending a morning with complete strangers. But I have to tell you how much fun I had. I also learned a few things that morning with Bob and Marty (besides how to find treasure in tide pools, and along the beach). Here are a few of the thoughts that I had that morning while walking along the beach with Bob and Marty:
It's amazing what you can find when you know what you are looking for. That was huge for me. It was like an AHA moment. Many times I don't even know what I want, or what I am looking for. Then am disappointed when I don't find it. Well...I realized I need to know what I want before I go start looking for it.
There is treasure all around us. It is all about perspective. How hard are we looking? And are we recognizing all the treasure there is? I am talking about more than just monetary treasures.
We are surrounded by people and opportunities daily. Many times, whether we are too scared, too busy, whatever the case may be...we miss out. I could have went about my day without the experience with Bob and Marty. I would've never known what I missed (sadly). But because I had a conversation with two complete strangers, I had a great morning, and I went away with more than just a few rocks and sea shells. The Lord finds many different ways to teach us...many times we are just not listening, or too busy to see that He's trying to talk to us. I am now trying to be more open to His wisdom and counsel.
When looking at the beautiful, smooth, tiny, rocks along the seashore I thought to myself. How long has it taken them to get this smooth? What did they look like before? How jagged were their corners, how rough were they? Now after many years of being refined by the ocean currents they are these beautifully smooth rocks that come in sorts of colors and textures. Some of them you can see their layers. I wondered what it took for them to get where they are today. Then I wondered what I will look like like once all my jagged edges have been smoothed?
I also learned that sea glass is a HOT commodity in the "searching the tide pools" business. Especially blue sea glass. Not just any blue sea glass but the smoother, more refined the more valuable. That was interesting to me because I would've considered that junk. But what was once someones junk tossed into the ocean, after days, months, probably years of being tossed about in the ocean, eventually shows up onto the seashore as treasure. We are a lot like blue sea glass, and the world is our ocean, someday we will end up on our "sea shore" as someones treasure...what will we look like?
Anyways...it was a really great morning.
