This past June, our family took a two-week vacation. One of the weeks, we went for a few days to Destin, FL. I love the beach! I love the sand in my toes, floating in the water, and finding seashells. My husband, not so much. He is the exact opposite of me when it comes to the beach. So my daughter, Brianna, and I convinced him to take us to the beach on one of our days in Destin.  (How anyone can go to Destin and not go to the beach is beyond me!). The night before, we made a Wal-Mart trip to buy all the things we would need.  We had so much stuff it was crazy!  From coolers to tubes for the 3 of us (complete with a pump to blow them up), and of course, we couldn’t forget the stuff to make sand castles. We truly looked like newbie beach goers heading down to the beach the next morning. Soon we had all the tubes blown up and we headed out to the water to float. 

As the 3 of us were out there floating together, we all were holding onto each other’s float. I am not sure if it was because there was no one for miles, or if it was because I had never been to this beach before. Perhaps it was because we had our daughter with us, or because my husband had us all scared of sharks; but I caught myself starting to worry anytime I was facing the ocean instead of the shoreline. When I was facing the shore, I could see our mountain-high pile of beach things, and I would realize we were not far from the shore at all. I was comforted because I knew we were not drifting away. However, when I would turn and face the ocean, my fear would really kick in. I was worried about everything: were we too far out? What if we saw a shark? Would we be able to get back fast enough if something happened? Had we drifted from our spot? It was then that the Lord brought this thought to my mind: 

Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

He reminded me that not once in the Bible does the Lord promise to take our trials and pains away, but He does promise to walk with us and hold our hands as we walk through those trials. He promises to comfort us and help us. 

As long as I was keeping my eyes on the shoreline, I had no fear.  I was encouraged in knowing I was ok. It is the same in our Christian walk. As we go though our trials, if we keep our eyes on the Lord and focus on Him, instead of focusing on the trial, we can have comfort in knowing that it is going to be ok. It is vitally important that we stay close to Him in our daily spiritual walk so when the trials come, we already have our eyes on Him (the shoreline) and not on problems and the things of this world (the ocean). 

While we were floating out in the water, we were holding onto each other watching out for one another.  My husband was the “shark watcher.” 

This demonstrates another way the Lord helps us. He places Christian brothers and sisters in our lives so we can walk (or float) together, be on watch for sharks, and point each other to the Shoreline. 

This past April my son Hector  and my sweet daughter-in-love Maddison gave birth to our first grandchild. Baby Tito, as we all call him. He only lived 8 minutes. I will say going through this trial and watching my children go through this has been some of the darkest moments of my life. I am so thankful we didn’t have to try and find the shoreline when this storm came. We already had our eye on our Saviour. I am so glad as a family that we were walking hand in hand with our Lord. The day before the funeral for our Baby Tito, I was at the church working. When I go though trials I have the personality to immerse myself in work. I wanted to make sure every detail was perfect for my sweet grandson. My son Hector stopped by the church and he could tell that I was in my zone. He said, “Hey mom come with me.” I did not want to leave my job, but he made me. We drove over to the gas station by the church and sat in his truck. He looked at me and said, “You ok, Mom?” I said, “Yeah Buddy, I am good.” He said, “You are lying, Mom.” I said, “I am ok, just really sad.” He looked at me and grabbed my hand and said, “Mom, it is ok to be sad, but don’t get mad at God.” I know now I needed my son’s words at the time. I was starting to look at the ocean and starting to turn my eyes from the Shoreline. My son saw a “shark” entering my life as we were going through this trial. During the trials of life, we need to make sure that we are staying close to those walking with the Lord - as they can be an encouragement to us and us to them. Also, they may see the sharks in our life that we may not see. 

What ever trial or heartache we may face, remember He never promised to take it away, but to walk with us and hold onto our hand saying to us, “Don’t fear, I am with you and I will help you.” 

Stay focused on the Shoreline!