Sweet September Days and the Georgia Coast

Keep close to nature’s heart…and break clear away, once in a while. Dig your toes in the sand and let the waves crash onto you. Wash your spirit clean.

I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell. Things such as the salty Georgia coast on a delightful September day. You know I’ve always said I want to be a memory millionaire, and yesterday added to my collection. There was a nice chill in the air, followed by a feeling that radiates change. That’s one thing I love about September, the fall comes slowly, then all at once. It’s the feeling of new beginnings. There was not a cloud to be found in the sky, blue as the waters of the Caribbean sea. Jekyll Island is one of my most favorite places throughout my explorations living here on the Georgia coast. It is quaint, quiet, and still very untouched by the hands of the people. Out of my 5 years of living here and coming to this island, I had never experienced Driftwood Beach until yesterday. It’s a little hidden treasure all the way at the north end of the island. It’s almost like a beautiful graveyard of all of the most beautiful trees that Georgia holds so nicely- Some still standing in the most unique formations and some laying to the waves crashing upon them. There were hundreds of seagulls flying high and flying low and singing their songs and there were pelicans watching guard for the next shrimp boat to come floating by with an array of a bird’s favorite delicatessens. I never seemed to phase the birds as I admired them from a close distance. The ocean was calm on this September day. Time stood still. For me being out in nature has always been healing for my soul. The beauty of this creation always makes me realize how tiny I am and how little my problems truly are. Just as the waves wash back and forth, anything that is heavy on my heart fades away with them and it all disappears. I smiled all day yesterday and saw the moment for the gift that it truly was. Every morning when I pray, I ask God to let me see through his eyes and hear through his ears and love like he loves. I got to see through his eyes yesterday. I noticed the most simple things and found them to be the most beautiful. That’s where joy lies, in the simplicity of life. Sometimes it takes getting out in nature and disconnecting to make you realize what life is all about. God truly is the most magnificent artist to have ever lived. I urge you to get lost in it, in the world and in nature. Disconnect from everything once in a while, more so than not. When you put the distractions of life away, you have more time to focus on the gifts that are handed to us everyday. Sometimes we are just to busy to open the packages that sit right in front of us. I think sometimes we forget that all good things are wild and free. Embrace that, or miss out on it- it will change your life. It is up to you to see the beauty of everyday things- the choice is yours. Life is like the ocean, it can be calm or still, and rough or riding but in the end, it is always beautiful. You know, it feels good to be lost in the right direction. Thank you Lord for your creation that you allow me to experience in such vast ways, and thank you for eyes that can see such magnificent beauty that is all created by you.

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

Unknown's avatar

The McLeod's

Welcome to our blog! We’re glad you stopped by and we hope you come back and visit. We want you to be a part of our journey! We are John and Chelsea McLeod. Best friends who are embracing the most precious gift of marriage and life. On the way to be full time missionaries and currently living a life mentoring those broken by addiction from both sides of the pain- loved ones and those struggling with addiction. Here you will find our recorded histories of life, love, struggles, and the journeys that encompass our wanderlust spirits all with an unfailing love for God and His ever so perfect redemption and grace over our lives. Here lies a safe place where our minds wander off into the deepest places with documentation to never be erased. We don’t want our memories to fall between the cracks somewhere, so we write. We don’t want to forget how far God has brought us, so we make records that will prayerfully live on for generations and give others hope who have lost theirs. We met in the most divine of appointments thousands of miles apart that only God could orchestrate. Had our first date watching a fiery sunset go down over the Georgia coast, and ultimately fell in love over kindred spirits that beat for where and what God passionately filled our hearts with. Hindsight, and years later, we can see that God had big plans all along that we couldn’t see. Through our broken pasts, He was preparing us for each other and a future of redemption and testimony. {{{{Everyone has a story and this is ours:}}}}} He’s a Georgia boy, she’s a Carolina girl. ----Hi, I’m Chelsea!---- I’m a native Carolina girl who loves to explore anywhere I’ve never been. An old soul and an extroverted-introvert with a deep heart that overflows with passion and a hunger for God to use me to change this world for the better. Mysterious and meek to the eye, and particularly passionate for the very things that set my heart on fire, especially the things and people that my heart beats for. I get filled up in the untouched outdoors where I can always see and feel His splendor. I am a Master cosmetologist by trade with a BA in Social Work and Counseling. These which intermix daily. I absolutely love the career that God has placed me in and daily, it allows me to love on people all around me. If I can make one person smile a day, my heart holds a fullness that keeps me coming back for more. I believe in forgiveness and miracles because I’ve witnessed them both. I don’t want my life to be about what I accomplished but what God accomplished through me. To me, I’ve learned that in life there is good and bad, right and wrong, excuses and no excuses. But alongside of these very things is engulfed with a ton of grace, growth, and redemption. I don’t ever want to pay the cost of not following my heart, by spending the rest of my life wishing I had. ----Hi, I’m John!---- I’m a born and bred Georgia boy where my blood runs strong with salt water. I was born and raised on the coast where everything I did was engulfed with water and the outdoors. I’m a bold soul with a gentle spirit who loves to help others in any way that I can to believe in themselves and God’s plan over their lives. By trade I hold the title of professional hunter and fisher with a 100 ton captain’s license. What started in Georgia took me out to Alaska where I found my career there, then south Florida and the open blue water. I’ve seen a lot and experienced a lot of God’s beauty and I will be forever grateful for that. Today I’ve taken on the title of “Fisher of men.” After enduring a wearisome season of addiction, God called me to use my pain to help others in addiction ministry and it has become one of the greatest joys of my life. It’s what I live for in showing people they can overcome something that most think they can’t. Offering hope where there is none. Testifying that something they always thought they would be, is only a season that God is ready and wants to use. Where Chelsea serves alongside me pouring into the loved ones. It’s where my passion is, it’s where we love to help others find freedom the same way we did. Today, Chelsea and I are grateful for our struggles because we know that what the enemy meant for evil, God used for good. Here we will write and share. Not to glorify us, but to glorify Him and what He is doing in our lives. The magnificent ways that He is moving and the unfathomable circumstances that He has and will bless us with. All glory goes to Him. We hope you enjoy!!

Tags: , ,

Submit a comment