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 I was reminded the other day of a vacation our family took when
our children were much younger. We’ve always been a family who has
loved vacationing in Florida. Some of our children’s fondest
memories have been made when the whole family was together and
relaxing far away from our daily grind. Dad isn’t stressed by work,
mom isn’t struggling to keep everyone’s schedule, and the children
aren’t knee deep in homework.
That particular year, we went to Panama City Beach, Florida. We have
always appreciated a nice beach, and Panama has some of the world’s
greatest. For as far as the eye can see, there is nothing but white
sand and surf. Everything the beach promised was there; except big
shells that is. The shells my children were finding were small and
broken and left each of them asking for more. That’s when we heard
about the famous Shell Island.
Just off shore, there is an island that all the locals call Shell
Island. For some reason, all the good shells were out there along
with many other treasures.
 But how does one get to this mystical Shell Island. Well, one must
be transported over. Fortunately, we had jet skis that year.
So, I loaded up my family and we took off on a journey to the great
Shell Island.
Drum roll . . . it was everything people had told us it would be. My
children found complete, unbroken, sand dollars, large perfectly
fanned shells, some coral, and even two large horseshoe crab shells
that now sit in my office.
It was great watching my children run and laugh while filling their
arm with more true Florida beach treasure then they could possibly
carry.
Once they had bagged all they could bag, we returned to the mainland
and showed off the load of ‘booty’ we had collected. When asked by
other beach combers, “Where did you get that?” my children proudly
smiled and pointed out to sea saying, “We went to Shell Island. Our
dad took us there.”
Now, back to Christmas. Let’s talk about God for a minute and the
secret to enjoying the upcoming holidays. God has an island where He
welcomes everyone and anyone who’s willing to be transported
spiritually and mentally; we are welcomed to come with our Father to
enjoy. Jesus said, “Drink freely.”
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There, close to Jesus, you will find the treasures of forgiveness,
love, acceptance, joy, and grace. Everyone is invited. The only
problem is that everyone has to leave the mainland of their lives.
You have to leave the worries and struggles of daily life and allow
yourself to be carried over to God’s land. That’s not always easy.
The promise this world makes of treasures will leave you empty. But
the treasures of God will fill a heart to capacity. It comes down to
where your focus lies and if you have the treasures of God blessing
your life.
Without God, the holidays can leave you empty, hurting, and
wondering if there isn’t more. Well, there is! If you want the good
stuff, you have to allow yourself to be transported over.
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