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The headlines leave me breathless.
 

 
 

Tidal waves of sorrow, cruelty, and indifference seem to flood the entire world, threatening to swallow up everything in their wake. No matter where we sit - the waves wash over us like shockingly-cold waters and sometimes leave us numb.
 
I love the Pacific Northwest. It's a sacred place to me and the location of all of my happiest childhood moments. When I go to the Oregon coast in particular, I feel closer to God. I've often wondered why a sunny beach in Mexico doesn't have the same effect on me. Perhaps it's because in the craggy, mist-painted, chilly cliffs of the Oregon coastline, I see the immense power of a God who takes the rugged, sharp edges of life and makes them beautiful. He turns numbingly-cold waters into pools of beautiful life, filled with starfish and anemones - vibrantly alive in the harshest of places. He takes the whipping wind and saltwater spray and bends them out of His way, suddenly cutting through the dimness with shockingly bright streams of sunshine.
 
 
This world and our lives are more like the Pacific Northwest coastline and less like a tropical beach. Stretches of smooth sand broken by towering, impossible to scale cliffs rather than silky beaches for miles. Pounding waves rather than gentle seas. Dangerous and sometimes dark, yes. But always incredibly beautiful.
 
So when we see the chilling headlines and feel overcome by the enormity of the waves of suffering, maybe it's time to step back and look for the beauty. In the coldest places, we will find Him. In the crashing waves, we will find Him. In the biting winds, we will find him.
 
 
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Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Psalm 139:7-12, NIV

May we see Him everywhere -- in the crashing waves and in the rays of sunshine, in the coldest places and in the pools of life.  And as we grow more aware of His unshakeable presence, may we turn our hearts to Him in prayer, carrying the children of the world with us as we go.   
 
Praying with you,
Carrie

Faces of Children
A Ministry of First Presbyterian Church
Carrie McKean, Director
800 West Texas Avenue
Midland, Texas 79701
Office: 432 .684.7821