“Jesus replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’” – Matthew 8:26-27

Yesterday morning Rebekah and I packed up her Rav-4 and we headed back home to Tarboro. But not before taking the opportunity for one more look at the ocean.

We have been to the Outer Banks a handful of times before, but always turning north after 64 runs out at Nags Head, visiting places such as Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Duck and Corolla.

This time, however, we headed south and I have to say it was a different experience altogether, wild and remote through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and then like stepping through a portal into another time when we put ashore on Ocracoke. I met a man who had moved there from London 35 years ago; he told me, “It’s like living in an episode of the Twilight Zone.”

So Friday, somewhere between Avon and Salvo, we made our way down at least a quarter mile of boardwalk through the sand dunes to where the Atlantic washes up against the Outer Banks, ripples from waves breaking in North Africa lapping at our feet in North Carolina.

Decades ago, when Rebekah was talking with Trinity in Pensacola about the possibility of moving our family there and becoming pastor for mission and discipleship, they took us out to the beach. “Legend says that if you get sand in your shoes, you’ll be back; we want to make sure you get some sand in your shoes,” they said.

This past few days on the Outer Banks we absolutely got sand in our shoes.

Peace and blessings, always – DEREK