Right before sunset. It’s my favorite part of a beach day. Sunbathers, motionless during the heat of the day, have disappeared in search of nourishment, or aloe vera, or both. Children who tirelessly played in the waves have deserted the beach, likely gearing up with flashlights and buckets before returning to look for sand crabs. And then there’s our family.

Lauren has dressed her child up as a mermaid. Adeline is carefully placed on the shore while people stand around snapping as many pictures as they can before she puts her sand covered hand in her mouth. Many are on the volleyball court challenging another family. A few linger at the gazebo cleaning up after the one night we’ve set aside to grill and eat together beside the pool. The rest of our group lingers at the edge of the water, drinking in the remaining minutes before the sun sets. I am in the latter group.

As I gaze into the horizon, I have to resort to using my fingers to tally up the number of friends and family members who have joined us at this spot on the Gulf. Between my sister Kay, my sister-in-law Vicki, and I, we have brought 31 people to share our vacation. Some visited only a couple of days, but each added their own unique layer to our beach memories. If the future is anything like the past, these stories will be told and retold for years to come.

I love our beach stories and our Christmas stories and our sports stories and every other genre of story our family treasures. In the midst of all of these memories, I hope I never forget to share the faithfulness of God when we weren’t sure what was going to happen. I want my children to be fully aware of the times we were desperately searching for answers, and God provided exactly what we needed. Only then will my children have a well-rounded, honest history of our family, but more importantly, a revelation of the character of our God.

“We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about His power and His mighty wonders.” These words from Psalm 78:4 should be the goal of every Christian parent. I think I’ll tell a few stories of God’s provision tomorrow when we gather at the beach.

Right before sunset.

Ronny may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.