Antibes

The beaches in Nice are pebble beaches and we thought going to a sand beach for a day would be nice. According to Rick Steves and others, Antibes, a smaller town just west of Nice, has a nice sandy beach. So we decided to take the "short bus ride" to Antibes and spend the day there.

Well, the short bus ride ended up being over an hour...and Ryan had to stand the whole way. When we got to Antibes, we wandered to the Picasso Museum, which was closed while they hung new artwork. We then had to walk along the coast in extreme heat. We found the small, sandy beach and set up to swim and play. It wasn't too long before Seth was stung by a jelly fish, Sean was sunburned, and we were all hungry and tired.

We had a quick snack and then headed back to Nice....this time the bus was hot, crowded, and nauseating. It took us even longer to return to our apartment because we were stopped by the bus security to check to see that all passengers had valid passes.

We returned "home" and were pretty hot, crabby, sunburned, and hungry. It had been a long day and we, in many ways, thought the trip wasn't really worth it.

But then that got me thinking....is there a purpose in our going there and Seth getting stung by a jellyfish? I mean, some people beleive so. I have talked with many people who beleive all the things we do in life are part of God's plan....and would a long, exhausting day be part of that plan, too?

I think back to the challenging times in my life, struggles I have faced....and sometimes I am tempted to make them have purpose and meaning. But is life suppose to be about learning something or getting something out of circumstances? Can't we just sometimes have a bad day and call it what it is? Why are we (or at least me at times) intent on making each part of our lives have a reason to have happened?

I beleive that life is life and life simply happens. Not that God is not involved....God is actively present, but everthing does not necessarily happen for a reason. Both Ryan and I were glad we went to Antibes...because we would have felt we had "missed out" if we hadn't, but really, it wasn't a very enjoyable day. Worse yet, Seth was hurt, and while it now makes a good story, he had to suffer a bit to be able to tell it.

Life happens....and sometimes we will have moments of true purpose and meaning....and sometimes we are simply living. And that is okay.