Solitude and Travel

On monday, I traveled back up to Santa Cruz to spend my free day with myself and Jesus. When I told people my fantastic plans, they looked at me very weird. "You are going by yourself? Rebekah, are you doing okay? What's wrong?" Gah! Very few understand the incredible feeling one gets when they travel alone. I get to leave the familiar and experience the world! You meet people you could have never imagined, and see sights you never knew existed. Your own world, which was so large as to consume your whole life, becomes smaller and smaller until it is only a dot in time and space. I travel alone because I need that time to myself. I need to get away from the world so I can get back in touch with myself. Sometimes it's hard to even know who we truly are, because we are so influenced by our society and the people in our lives. We constantly fill our days with activities and if we aren't careful, we begin to mistake all these activities for the meaning of life. Being alone usually leaves someone feeling awkward and depressed, and I think that's sad. We should be comfortable and content to enjoy things in solitude. Actually, Jesus longs for that intimacy with Him. People and relationships are a vital part of both our inner and outer growth. But we all need time alone with no distractions...just Jesus. Nature and the ocean is where I go to nourish my spirit, so that I have strength and energy to give others. Make a point of delighting in the trees and birds and flowers. Let the glories of nature energize, heal your soul and uplift your spirit. Here is how I spent my day with Him.

I needed this so badly. When I go to the beach, I live the whole thing through Him. I feel His presence, and it gives me pleasure.

So much of God's beauty can only be understood and appreciated, when you look at it from a distance.

This couple was so adorable. I followed them around and took a picture. Okay, as I'm typing this I realized how creepy I sound.

Everything I could even want... in one place.

Oh give me to a rambling man, and let it always be known, that I was who I am.

I want to be best friends with them! So rad.

I love finding art walls like this. They are all over.

No matter what town I'm in, I always find myself in bookstores. They are like a magnet for a soul like mine. I just automatically know where they all are.

I love full length mirrors. Not in a conceded way, but because I don't own one. So it's fun to see my whole entire self and feel at ease that I'm alive and well.

Music. Yes, music is wonderful.

There were banjos all over. I was in love.

I ended my day drinking a while chocolate mocha and watching the sunset over the ocean. I LOVE sunsets. I know I say love a lot, but like I really LOVE sunsets. They are God's final brushstrokes on the beauty of the day. I think they are how I feel God's love the most.

I'll end with this silly video of me singing and chasing the sunset :)

Thank you Jesus for all the beauty in this world. Thank you for being so present when I needed your strength so desperately. Thanks for being intimate with me. I know I am loved by You.