Joy Stealers

There I was, enjoying a glorious afternoon at the beach. Stretched out on my blanket, I watched the waves tumble and dance in the glistening sun. Off in the distance, my daughter and her two friends romped in the surf.

It felt so good to relax, especially after having maneuvered the maze-like streets of San Francisco, followed by nine miles of curvy highway—all the while battling three teenage girls in the backseat who insisted their rock music wasn’t quite loud enough.

Upon arrival, we celebrated with a splendid picnic lunch before the girls hurried out to play. They looked so young and free chasing the waves. I rolled over onto my stomach, closed my eyes and tunneled my toes deep into the sand. The ocean’s hypnotic rumble nearly lulled me to sleep.

All of a sudden, I heard the rustling of wrappers.
“Val “ I scolded. “The cookies are for later.”
I looked up, but to my surprise, it wasn’t my daughter. Instead, it was a hoard of hungry sea gulls. A gray one held half of my leftover turkey sandwich in his beak. Two more simultaneously carried off a whole can of Pringles. “Shew!” I yelled.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a rather scruffy-looking one trying to carry our bag of cookies. Apparently, it was too heavy. He dropped it a couple of feet away, continuing to peck at the foil packaging.

That was it. I snatched the bag away from him. "Take the rest if you must, but you can’t have my Snicker doodles!” I thrust the cookies under my blanket to hide them, but it was like a scene from a Hitchcock movie. The gulls had me surrounded. Peering at me with their black, beady eyes, they hopped through the sand pecking and groping for more.

“Get away!” I yelled. My arms flapped as I made threats. People around me were staring. That’s when it hit me. Just five minutes before, I was enjoying a small piece of heaven. Now all I could think about was murder, mayhem—getting my hands on a BB gun!

How did my countenance fall so quickly? This was not the first time I allowed thieves to come in and steal my joy. Fear, jealousy, resentment, guilt, these are all "sea gulls" in my life. When I’m not careful, they creep in and fill my mind with negativity. All of these emotions peck away at the peace and tranquility that God intended me to have.

Today, I will chase them away. I will bask in the warmth of the peace that only God can give.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)