Shell seeking on Gasparilla Island

I'm writing this with the thunder and lightening of a sub-tropical downpour going on outside. It's been another scorcher of a day and to escape the humidity we drove over to Gasparilla Island – just half and hour away by car – and ended up on the glorious Boca Grande beach with its refreshing sea breezes for the afternoon. (Upon our return we read up on our location and discovered it means 'Big Mouth' in Spanish!)

Boca Grande was a magical place – made even more so by our unexpected sighting of a couple of dolphins swimming just a few metres in front of us. Bronzed Floridians were trying out the surf but our small family group ended up shell seeking. Each wave brought more and more highly coloured, exquisite shells onto the beach.

It struck me how wonderfully 'ordinary' it is to look for shells – whether here on the Gulf of Mexico or back home at West Bay on the coast of Dorset. Some of the best bits of life are the simplest – like looking for shells.

And all of that chimed in with a book I'm reading at the moment by Kevin Scully called Simple Gifts: Blessings in Disguise. I've been asked to review it for The Retreat Association so I tucked it into the suitcase as we left. The book is a real joy – not much in it is actually profound, but its message contains a profound truth: that simple gifts like 'hospitality' can bring some of the richest blessings in life – and offer us that 'wholeness' which is a feature of the Kingdom of God.

The simplest of activities can bring the deepest of joys – even spending an afternoon searching for shells.

With best wishes,

Ian