Blessings on a Beach...

I began my run with excitement and anticipation. I recalled several other runs on the beach and looked forward to a quick 3 miles on the sandy shore. I set my ipod to record my distance and time and I was off. The sound of the ocean soothed my ears and I basked in the early morning fog and cool mist coming off of the water. Out of habit I looked down to check on my current pace..it was slower than I liked so I sped up.. Suddenly I stopped, looked down and saw a beautiful half a sand dollar. I carefully picked it up, put it in my pocket and kept running. Just a few feet later I saw another one and thought of how excited my kids would be to see it. I stopped again to take some pictures when suddenly I was overwhelmed with the surrounding beauty. "It's not about the destination it is about the journey" a still small voice whispered into my ear. Overwhelmed with emotions I thought about the words I just heard "It's not about the destination it is about the journey" how many sand dollars had I missed out on because I was so concerned about where I was going and not enjoying the journey? How many people's lives had I missed out on helping because I was so engulfed in myself and "beating my time" or getting to my final destination. I continued running and could not believe what I saw next, tears filled my eyes as I gazed upon a complete, unbroken beautiful sand dollar! "Blessings are all around if you just take the time to look for them, focus on the person you are becoming not just getting to where you want to be" powerful words to consider every day. Tears rolled down my sweaty cheeks as I reflected on my own selfishness and how I was focusing on the wrong things and decided to live each day enjoying the journey and let God bring me to the destination in His own beautiful time.