Finding Grace

Isaiah 53: 4-5

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Newton once said that "what goes up must come down", and within a series of events everything came down. The world I knew crashed and all that was left was a few fragments of something that had seemed so stable, but at the core had cracked. That crack had opened a wound so deep that the scar would be as ugly as the deed.

For three years I had been in love. And now there I was sitting on wet sand, the grains digging into my bare legs making me wish to stand. I was too weak of course, and I was not yet ready to face the world, to face him.

Daniel Cross. A beautiful boy with a hidden disposition that any woman would curse. He would draw up intricate worlds full of color and beauty then destroy them; glorious plots of love and fantasy, then a killer finale.

Of course not every man is born that way. So I did not swear upon my grave to never love again because of one man who destroyed the love I bestowed upon him. No, not even a scar would show on my heart because he was not worth even that. Besides what could any man possibly do to make one appear?

So there I sit. I'm alone and soaking in the rain. The ocean's blue waves torn by the attack of the smaller drops of silver from the sky, a dark luminous mass. My tears had been dried for a while but I stayed to see the beauty of nature and its drastic course of destruction.

My body shook. The cold weather finally getting to me. My shirt, dry just moments earlier, was now chilled and frigid. My shorts were so soaked they felt like they would pull me back down if I dared to stand even a little. My hair clung to my face as if it felt it would die without me.

Thunder roared to my left causing me to jump. Lightning flashed, its features elucidated by the blinding light. Then I saw it. The shape of a man running toward me. His voice was quiet but I could tell that he was yelling. I stood up slowly preparing myself for the encounter.

As he got closer his features became more noticeable. His shaggy, blonde hair and bright blue eyes created a surfer dude look. To top it off he was wearing a life guard uniform. Perfect hair, perfect eyes; perfect rebound.

"Hey!" he said trying to catch his breath. "You're not...rain...storm...beach."

"Can you form a proper sentence please? Your lack of oxygen shouldn't affect you're sentence forming skills," I stated. I wiped my eyes hoping he wouldn't notice the puffiness.

He shook his head. "Sorry about that. I've just been running up and down the beach for a while." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm the lifeguard on duty and I'm obligated to tell you that during the storm you're not supposed to be out here."

I rolled my eyes and nodded. Turning on my heel I started to walk away.

"Wait!" he called.

I turned back around.

"There are some towels in the shed. You could come and dry off and wait out the storm if you'd like?"

I gave him a half-hearted smile. "I wouldn't want to trouble you. Besides my house isn't too terribly far away." That was a lie. I lived 10 miles away.

"Still, I would hate myself if I didn't help a beautiful girl like yourself." He winked.

"Beautiful girl? More like horribly-dressed-half-dead girl."