Join Geoff and Christian as they share about their incredible day taking in God’s creation! Discover how the Celebrate Church IMPACT team found peace and reflection at Winding Bay, Pete’s Pub, and Long Dock Beach, witnessing amazing beauty and hearing inspiring stories of God’s faithfulness.
We started our day in devotions learning from the books of Matthew and John. In Matthew we learned the importance of prayer and worrying less of details of our day to day, and rather, have faith that God will provide. In John we learned the importance of living in the grace of God and having our actions be the fruit of his existence.
“By bearing true faith to his commandments and living as his disciples we will spread his joy to others and in turn be able to live a fulfilled life filled with blessings.”
After devotions we had an opportunity to change the pace of the week from work to taking in the beauty of all his creation. We looked to the lessons from our devotions and our experiences to slow ourselves down and take more meaning from what we saw. We started our excursion at Winding Bay beach where we spent the day swimming in the beautiful blue ocean, walking the soft white sands and seeing fish, crabs, conch and the overall beauty of the area. We spent the first 30-45 minutes swimming and viewing what was beneath the waves. After that, we spent the remainder of time with several other group members throwing the football while in the water. This was a nice leisure break to laugh and connect with those we have been sweating and serving with.
After a couple of hours at Winding Bay, we moved out for lunch at Pete’s Pub. Our group got to sit down on the main patio, all together, where we shared food, stories and laughs. After lunch we took a break from the group and went over to the boardwalk and took in the power of the fast waves crashing into the lava rock break. We took some pictures together, shared some 1 on 1 laughs and grew as father and son.
This was a great opportunity to have time together and take in the beauty and power of God’s creation together. From the crashing waves, the unique rock formations and the additions that other humans have added to allow us to better access all that area has to offer, without further taking away from its beauty. To end our time at Pete’s Pub, I (Geoff) laid on the beach to listen to gospel and take a moment of reflection and prayer. During my time in that reflection I felt God’s hand reach down and remind me to slow down, he has control and will keep my life filled with all of the right blessings. As it began to rain, I continued to lay there and I was overcome with appreciation for all the Lord has provided me, including this opportunity I have been blessed with to be vulnerable and serve alongside my son.
Our next stop, in taking in the beauty of God’s creation, was at Long Dock Beach. This is the location of a 770 foot dock that was originally built in 1942 and rebuilt through the love and contributions of so many when destroyed by multiple hurricanes. This dock stood, to us both, as a symbol of what we can achieve when we act as branches from God’s vine and provide fruit to the world through our loving actions.
We had some fun jumping off the dock into the ocean; doing flips, cannon balls and belly flops all to smile and laugh with our group. To know that in only 5 days, our group has opened up to one another to not only be vulnerable in our faith to God, but to each other as well. After spending time jumping from the dock, we spent time snorkeling and witnessing so much life beneath the water. From picking up countless conch that were peacefully existing at the ocean floor, to fish that seemed almost invisible but continued to move as one even though there were many, and lastly crabs who were committed in their resolve to find nourishment from God’s offerings. Seeing all of this provided further served as a reminder as to what we learned in Mathew 6 verses 25-34 in which it speaks to the importance of trusting in the Lord as he will provide.
As we looked to finish out our day, we took a pit stop at Twisted Treats, which is a small but delicious ice cream shop in Murphy Town. As we all stepped up to get our individual selections, we shared stories of what we saw and experienced and further reflected on God’s greatness. It was a much needed cap to an already blessing filled day.
We ended an already powerful day with a devotion from Isaiah Chapter 43 verses 2-5. A relative connection and personal story was provided to the power of patience in prayer and faith. Understanding that God will provide, but not in our time. We must have faith that he will provide and we must be strong and patient in our faith in him and his glory.
God is great and we are all blessed to live in the world he has provided us.
– Geoff & Christian Wheelock
