I was sitting there looking at the Atlantic Ocean one last time before heading back to Ohio. My feet were in the sand, and the water was literally glistening like a sea of diamonds.
The sound of the waves hitting the shore is soul filling for me. And I was trying to listen, which isn't always so easy for me. But that morning I was trying to be quiet.
I had about 45 minutes before we had to leave, and I was debating whether I should get in the ocean one more time. The water was warm and calm that day, but there was nobody swimming anywhere near me. I could feel the fear creeping in.
What if the water pulls me too far out?
What if I get tumbled by a wave?
What if a random sea creature attacks or stings me? (Said with intentional drama:)
I walked down to the edge and let the foam wash over my feet. I felt almost a magnetic pull. The ocean has always had this affect on me that’s hard to explain. It’s life giving.
I was born about 15 minutes from that very beach.
Coming back there always feels like coming home, to where I’m rooted. To who God made me to be. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get past the symbolism of that moment. The ocean was calling me in.
Jump over the waves. Dive underneath if one gets too close. Keep going. Immerse yourself in something you love.
And at the same time, I was getting ready to leave there and walk into a completely new season of my life. I had just settled both of my girls into their new seasons.
One at college. One beginning her life in New York City. I was going home as an empty nester, still figuring out what my next season looks like.
So the question sitting in front of me felt a whole lot bigger than whether I was going swimming.
Are you going to get back in the water, Karen?
Are you going to do what fuels you?
Even if there’s a moment of, Whoa, shit, the water is cold!
Even if you might step wrong, get knocked over by a wave and tumble around for a minute?
Because I know I’ll get back up. I always have.
There’s going to have to be a lot of trust in this next season.
But there also has to be humility, openness and willingness.
That’s what I call the Power of H.O.W.™
H.umble enough to ask for help and admit we don’t to go it alone.
O.pen to see something from a different perspective, push limiting beliefs out of the way and receive the ideas and solutions that present themselves.
W.illing to take ACTION. To move forward without complete certainty. To risk failing in order to fly.
So I decided to take my own advice. I got in the water.
And within seconds, I was shoulder deep and laughing out loud with joy. All that time sitting on the shore wondering if I should do it, and there I was. Alone in the ocean. Floating.Riding the waves.Taking in the majesty of the water around me. And somewhere out there, something clicked.
I had been asking God what He needed from me in this next season. What He was trying to tell me.
Maybe this was it.
I was born at the shore and learned to swim in this ocean as a child. I know how to ride a wave, when to dive underneath instead of taking the blow, how far out I can go and when it’s time to come back in. None of that means a wave won’t knock me over. It means I know I can stand back up when it does.
God had already prepared me for the water.
Maybe I needed to remember that He has already prepared me for what comes next, too. I don’t need to know exactly how this next season is going to unfold before I step into it. I don’t need complete certainty.
I just need the humility to ask for help, to be open to new possibilities, and willing to get off the shore and swim.
A week later, I can still see those diamonds on the sea. And I’m sitting here thinking about them, knowing that’s what God made of me too.
Now it’s time to go sparkle and shine. To ShineFORWARD✨.
Join me for a swim?
I hear the water is awesome.
Want to ShineFORWARD with me? ✨
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