where waves grow sweet

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

Last weekend, we went camping at San Elijo State Beach with my cousin’s family and a bunch of other great people. While sitting on the sand watching the clouds roll by and the kids play on their big blue Costco surfboards, my boyfriend, John, decided it was time to build a sand castle. A big one. He had prepared for the occasion by bringing a large metal shovel of the Home Depot – not sand toy – variety, and various other tools for the job. His growing mound of sand and noble mote soon received the architectural touch of his daughter, Madison. And then me. Then Alyssa and Hannah. And Aubrey. And the twins. Oh, and the teenage boys. And so it went until the end of the day when the stretch of beach before us revealed several large sand castles of diverse design connected by an intricate system of motes. It was dazzling.

The next day, the beach – which was previously barren besides our global sand village – was strewn with sand creations of every variety… inspired, perhaps, by what we had built the day before, but unique to the imaginations of the kids (and adults) constructing them. Our group added another large castle, which bore a strong resemblance to a California mission and was given an A+ by a passing fourth grade teacher. But there was no way to compare each design and no desire to compete. We were all just very joyfully working to make our own wonderful thing and, I think, to be a part of something bigger.

Each day ended with a bit of sunburn and a sense of accomplishment. Even though the castles were destroyed by rascally kids and the incoming tide, there was something lasting formed in the process. Something of camaraderie and unity. Imaginations getting sparked. Memories being created. Everyone coming together to make something so much better than it would have been alone. I know this translates to much bigger life things, but I think it will also translate to even better castles. In fact, Cole and I are looking forward to the next beach day when we aspire to build a Mayan temple… with the willing and able hands and minds of our harmonious crew, of course… and can’t wait to see what great things the people around us construct from big imaginations and tiny grains of sand.