"Black Rock"

"The black rock is where I spend my time
Writing a memory or writing a rhyme
Thinking about what is right or wrong...

Sometimes I just look around to take in the feeling coming out from the ground
But that's just something I do sometimes
And then I just step out the door to take in the wind coming off of the shore
And that's just what I'm doing tonight"
-OAR


Today was my first "official" day of winter break since finishing up exams yesterday, and I knew I wanted to go somewhere today and just be able to sit and relax and think and read and do all of the things that I often feel robbed of during the hectic pace of the semester. I also knew this place I was going to do this had to be outside...somewhere beautiful...somewhere away from noise and away from this everyday world. A sort of safe haven, or my "black rock" as OAR puts it. I haven't been able to roam the city as much as I wish yet since being here - so I didn't exactly know where this place was going to be. I set out to find it today, knowing as I walked out the door with my backpack full of the necessities (pen, notepad, bible, book) on that I may very well not find it this particular day and that today I may have to settle for somewhere a little more "ordinary" since it was the first day of my search.

Boy, was I wrong. After driving around and discovering a little more of ole "Jim Island," as my grandmother likes to call it, I finally stumbled across my black rock. It couldn't have been any more perfect. As soon as I got settled, I pulled out my notepad and began to write...here is an excerpt from what I scribbled down:

'Serenity. The word that comes to mind as I lay here in the sand. The ocean in front of me beautifully pounding the rocks. No sound but the crash they make as they hit and splatter 5 feet in the air. An old lighthouse standing strong out in the ocean, yet looking tired and faded by the salt and sunlight. I am laying up in the dunes. My feet stretched out in front of me with a little sand on the tips of my tennis shoes as a mark of the walk to get here. My back leans against a dune and is more comfortable than any sofa could ever be. Nature. It is beautiful. The tall grass is blowing in the breeze around me....there is a purple haze breaking the canopy of blue that is extending up from the ocean that turns into a deeper blue as it crawls upward. Way up in the sky are the white ones, streaking and fluffy. The sun is behind me, a sign that the day will be coming to a close shortly. I can feel the chill of the sand on my back as it penetrates the thickness of my sweatshirt. Silence rolls along with the ocean. How did I get so lucky as to stumble upon this little piece of heaven? I surely have been blessed.'

Their is a little more scribbled upon the pages of my notebook, mostly including how great it is to get to experience the fullness of the universe that our awesome God created, and how that, in my opinion, is living. Letting yourself experience God's creation and just being filled with His glory as you breathe in the salty, damp air.

I encourage you all to find your own little "black rock," whether it be in your backyard or up in a tree (which would be REALLY cool...I wanted to find a cool tree to go climb and sit in today soo badly, but I haven't found the perfect one yet) or in a coffee shop somewhere...anywhere that you can go escape from the lull of your everyday life and experience the fullness of our Lord in a way that is a little out of the ordinary for you. It's nice. Trust me.