10/07/2024
So many of you have contacted us with prayers of love for the approaching storm. Thank you so very, very much. We cover those prayers.
Two days ago we pivoted from tearing out and cleaning up from the still present and immense disaster of Helene to doing what we can to prep for Milton. We are finishing the last of prep and packing up now to evacuate to Ft Lauderdale. Drew and Nick continue to be an amazing blessing to us as help us hard to find when an entire region is destroyed - and facing more distruction.
We fell in bed exhausted after midnight and with the stinging realization that it might very well be our last night in our home. We were up again at 6:00 am to finish packing. I stopped long enough to write a message on the LGI homeowners FB page - a message that God ordained for this time, and what all of the trials here for the last five years have prepared hearts to hear. Please pray that hearts respond!
I’ll post an update on Friday when we discover what is and isn’t left of this island we call home. We love you!
--//
Dearest Island Neighbors,
Like yours, my heart is heavy over the recent losses by so many, and over the very real prospect that this week may bring with it unfathomable destruction.
I’ve walked the shores of this beautiful island since I was ten years old. My grandmother and great aunt taught me how to make greeting cards decorated with the tiniest of shells. My own grandchildren are the fifth generation of our family to frolic in the waves and build sandcastles on this beach.
The awe-inspiring beauty of the sunset, the winsome cry of the seagull, the intricacies and artistry of perfectly symmetrical seashells, all never cease to amaze me. God chose each of us for the privilege of basking in His marvelous creation that is Little Gasparilla Island….for a time.
It was never going to be forever. It wasn’t meant to be.
And while I’m not ready to say that it’s all going to be swept away this very week, we do know that one day will be our last on this island and on Earth. The time will come.
Tonight, I’m reminded of a poem I wrote about my beloved Little Gasparilla Island when I was twelve years old:
“My home is the beach, white carpet, soft bed.
The sea is my garden - green grass? Blue instead.
The sun is my lamp, lit only in day - I carry it with me, the strong burning ray.
The seagull my friend, he speaks truth to me.
The crab is my pet - captured, yet free!
The sea oats - my flowers - grow tall, gold and wild.
My home is the beach. I’m God’s luckiest child!”
Somewhere along the way from the mind of that child fifty years ago to the older woman that l am now, I became aware of how quickly time passes. Of how beauty fades. Of the temporary nature of the sea life, and of our homes, whether they are generational cottages by the shore, or lovely large new structures, or something in between.
If my home is swept out to sea this week I will remind myself that we are the very lucky, blessed ones who have had the rare privilege of calling this special place, “home. “ And I will remember that it was never meant to be forever.
The real beauty - the forever beauty - awaits all of us who place our dreams, hearts and faith in the hands of the God who created this spectacular place. There is an abiding, everlasting peace and joy when you worship the Creator, rather than what He has created. He never changes. He is always with us. His beauty never fades.
As we mourn whatever the storm may take, there is great comfort in 2 Corinthians 5:1 which reads, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands".
The same Creator who formed every detail of our little island also created a forever home for us in Heaven. We think LGI is pretty - just wait until we see the gift of the digs awaiting us there!
There’s only one catch: we have to accept the gift - by accepting the giver.
The single most important thing we must do is work out our own relationship with God; to come to the place where we step into all that He has for us.
You already know that He loves you, because he let you live on LGI! But do you know that He loves you so much that he came to Earth as one of us, and lived through loss like we do? This God of the Universe - the Great Creator - even gave himself up for you and me - and took on his shoulders all of our bad attitudes, our sins against other people, and our faults. And he even gave up His life, carrying our burdens to the grave so we can live free!
God became man when Jesus was born. And because Jesus was wiling to go to the cross with our faults and sins, and then conquered death by rising again, we can experience mercy, abundant grace and his “very present help in times of trouble.”
Cast the burdens of this week on Him. Let Jesus be the source of your joy and peace. All you have to do is say “Yes!” to the one who chose you for LGI; who pursued you relentlessly your entire life; who brought you to this moment.
If our beautiful little island is still here at week’s end, I pray that you will see it as a very small taste of what awaits us in Heaven. And if our earthly “tent” has vanished, I pray that you will depart these shores with a new hope - a new promise - a new everlasting joy and life in Christ.
Please do what you can this week to be safe, to take care of every breath and day that He has given you. And above all else, say, “Yes” to Jesus as your Lord, friend and savior.
Andy and I hope to see you on the other side of this storm, and to do what we can to help if we have the blessed opportunity to recover together.
No, the island wasn’t meant to be forever, but we were made for eternity! My most earnest prayer tonight is that we will all be forever friends in Christ.
Much love,
Rebecca
