Living On A Private Beach In India!?

What comes to mind when you think of India?

If you’re like me, you probably think of dusty streets, car horns blaring, people everywhere, a big red sun low in the sky, the Taj Mahal, and lots of curries! Or maybe you think about some scene from Slum Dog Millionaire, Lion, or some other movie you’ve seen that takes place in India. 

Technically, you wouldn’t be wrong. These are accurate images of India; however, this is not representative of the whole of India. India is a vast, colorful, diverse, mysterious, and special place on earth. There are stereotypes surrounding it, but if you ever get to visit India you will quickly realize there is so much more to it than its stereotypes. 

This was my second time in India and wasn’t at all what I expected. We started the month with a fifteen-hour train ride toward the Bay of Bengal. When we arrived at our ministry site we noticed that there was nothing around us besides coconut palms and the bay itself. If you walked five minutes toward the bay you would arrive at a beautiful beach that has yet to be commercialized so it is literally empty! If you were to walk a mile or so to the left you would come to a little fisherman’s town, but other than that, we had the beach completely to ourselves. Woah! Serene, quiet, barely any people, and privacy. Hardly what comes to mind when you imagine India am I right? 

I realized then that God wanted us to have a unique experience. He wanted to pull us away from the noise, the multitudes, social media, and other craziness for the purpose of focusing our minds and hearts on Him. We were only at the beach for two weeks, but the result in my life was tremendous. 

 We lived at a little English primary school five minutes walk away from the beach and our ministry was to teach English for a few hours a day, preach in churches on Sunday, and serve our hosts by performing others tasks as well. We formed lesson plans, struggled to teach kids who knew basically nothing in the English language, cleaned the school, pulled weeds, and fellowshipped with our hosts. But for the most part, we had a lot of free time. In fact, India blessed us with more free time than any other month on the World Race. This meant a lot of time at the beach. 

Almost every morning I would wake up early, make coffee, grab my Bible, and walk towards the water. It was amazing. I was able to spend quiet, uninterrupted hours with the Lord every morning before our classes began. I was able to walk on the beach and talk to Lord like He was walking right there next to me. I was able to wade out into the water and sing praises to God at the top of my lungs like no one was there because well… no one was. This brought me life, joy, refreshment, and perspective. 

Do you ever feel disconnected from the Lord? Do you ever get to the point where little issues become HUGE problems? Where molehills look more like mountains? Sure. We all face this issue. We all feel disconnected from the Lord, and we all have to deal with a distorted perspective. This is why connecting back to God’s perspective can be life-shaking. The way I imagine it is this… you’re on a hike and you’re traveling a new path – a trail you are unfamiliar with, it’s brand new. So you walk with your eyes on your feet. Carefully observing every single step so that you don’t slip or fall. Eventually, you find yourself staring at little rocks, roots, and plants for hours. Boring? You bet. The key on any hike is remembering to look up and to look around at beautiful nature. Then we all know the amazing feeling of reaching the top and looking out at the view. It’s hard to describe what drinking in a breathtaking view is like, but for the sake of this analogy, it’s as if at that moment you remember why you toiled up the mountain in the first place. The view, the perspective, is worth it. 

God’s perspective is so much higher, grander, and way beyond our pebble and root point of view. He sees things way differently. He sees the beginning, the now, and the end all at once and how they weave together in His perfectly ordered universe. He not only cares for humans but He cares for the tiniest insect as well as the most distant galaxy. Wow! Our molehill mountains all of a sudden shrink when we consider His point of view. This is why connecting with the Lord and gaining His perspective again was so powerful on the beach. It was taking my eyes off of my feet and allowing God to elevate my eyes to the mountain top point of view. Powerful! Problems I thought impossible became possible, issues I deemed important became less important, and lies I had been believing about myself and my relationship with God vanished away and were replaced by life-changing truths! THANK YOU JESUS! 

Maybe you’ve been walking through life looking at the ground and the little rocks seem to grow bigger and bigger. All your focus is on the roots on the ground in front of you and those molehills look more like mountains. Let me encourage and remind you to lift up your eyes. God cares for you exactly where you are and wants desperately to meet you in your daily battles, struggles, and problems. But I firmly believe that He also wants to elevate your gaze and show you what He is doing in the world and how He is building His kingdom. He didn’t design or save us to stare at our feet. He wants us to see His grandeur. He wants us to see life from His point of view. 

 You may not be able to go to a private beach in India to regain this perspective, but perhaps taking a walk, climbing a mountain, or going to your secret place is just what you do need to reconnect with God’s big picture. I hope this blog serves as a reminder and motivator… let God be the lifter of your eyes, and let Him be the transformer of your perspective. Disconnect from the temporary pressures of life on earth and reconnect with His eternal kingdom that is happening every single day all around our universe!