Seeing God Everywhere!

The bridges here scare me to death! Unlike the flat bridges we have at home, all of the bridges down here go way up, and then way down. The above picture is one of the smaller bridges going from Mount Pleasant out to Isle of the Palms. It goes over the Atlantic Intercoastal waterway. This one isn't so bad, but the one connecting Daniel Island to Mount Pleasant is at least twice as high. When you are going up, it feels like you are going to just drive off the end of it because you can't see the other side!

Today, we got done with training around 4:00pm, and it gets dark around 5:30pm. I hurried back to the hotel to get my tennis shoes and my sweatshirt and headed out to the ocean at Isle of Palms. I walked NE up the beach for about 40 minutes. The tide was out, compared to when we had been there on Sunday morning. Since today was the coldest day of the season so far (55 degrees), I could count the number of people on the beach with one hand! When I finally turned around to head back, the sun was just setting and I watched the sunset the whole way back.

I kept singing the Ten Shekel Shirt song in my head that has the line "there's something about the ocean, makes me stand in awe of You". I was definitely walking in awe! I had fun picking up some seashells, and found a sand dollar in the sand. I was so excited!! I had seen some pieces earlier, but this one was whole! I took a couple of steps, and found another one. Now, with three kids, I started praying that I would find a third. I had given up, but on my way back down the beach, I found a third one! The were even with the sand, and the same color as the sand, not like the white ones you see in the store.

When I got back to the hotel, I washed all of my finds and put them on a towel. It was then that I noticed that all of my sand dollars had little hairs on the bottoms of them. I thought that was really strange, and didn't really know much about them, so I looked them up on the internet. I feel really stupid, but I didn't know they were actually alive!! They have mouths and everything! Now I am sitting here feeling terrible, because I killed three sand dollars. I am trying to console myself because I prayed about finding them, so it must be OK with God, right?

Anyway, here is something that I didn't know about sand dollars that I thought was fitting for my God filled day at the beach:

THE LEGEND OF THE SAND DOLLAR
The Sand Dollar or Holy Ghost Shell is one of the most unusual specimens of marine life. The markings on the shell, to some, symbolize the Birth, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. On top of the shell, an outline of the Easter Lily is clearly seen. At the center of the Lily is a five pointed Star representing the Guiding Star of Bethlehem that led the Wise Men. The five narrow openings are representative of the four nail holes and the spear wound made in the body of Christ during the Crucifixion. Reversing the shell you will recognize the outline of the Poinsettia, the Christmas flower, and also the Bell. When broken, inside the shell are five little birds called the Doves of Peace. Some say they are the Angels that sang to the Shepherds the First Christmas Morning.

I wanted to leave you with a little piece of the sunset on the beach, I hope you enjoy!