This morning, Cori and I came down to school…and after about 10 minutes of sitting here contemplating doing work, we realized that it was far too nice of a day to sit inside and do work. So we called Phil and the three of us went to the beach. Cori and I played Frisbee with some African guy who later gave us a “cado” (gift) of frozen bisap juice. Then we cooled down by getting in the Atlantic…it didn’t take long to cool down. :) And when Cori pointed out a small jellyfish in the water a few feet away from us, I promptly found my way to shore. After sitting for about an hour drying off and chatting with each other and our favorite lady at the beach who sells little treats, Saucy, we headed for home. I love the people here. They are so warm and loving and generous…even when they have so little. I know its not a perfect culture by any means, but I do love these people. Anyhow, it was a perfectly lazy day…an absolute success. :)

As I was sitting there on the beach, I realized that no matter how much I love a day at the beach, I am more of a mountain girl. Last night, we had a girl’s night where we ate “healthy pancakes” (made with bananas instead of sugar) and watched “What a Girl Wants”. It is a cute movie and there was one line in it that really struck me. The guy says to the girl, “Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were made to stand out?” And it hit me that God has made each of us so unique from one another. I got to thinking about a relationship that I am now very thankful is over, though, of course at the time, it was very painful. But God knew both what I wanted and what His best was. There seem to be certain things about each of us that when we enter into a relationship, we should not compromise…no matter how tempting it is. I know relationships are about finding the middle ground and loving through the differences…but there are certain, God-given things that define who we are that should not be compromised or we will be dissatisfied. And whereas the goal of life is not happiness…God does wish us to live in the abundance of the life He offers…which is hard to do when we have compromised who we are for something that God may not even want for us. I guess without unpacking this any further, I will suffice it to say that in retrospect, God doesn’t allow us to settle for less than His best when we are walking with Him. I love that about Him. And where He closes one door, therein lay the hope of a new door to walk through. Life is sweet…and God is good. :)