Youth Moment: On Baptism and Sand Castles

The second weekend in December seems like a funny time to talk about being at the beach, and actually, the snow is piling up outside our windows.  But, have you ever gone to the beach and built a sandcastle?  Have you ever worked really hard on it for a long time?  It's really neat what you can do with just water, and sand.

from raisinggreatkidsblog.com

Now, have you ever gone back the next day?  Was the sand castle still there?  Usually not, though sometimes there's a few traces left behind.  Sand castles don't keep, except for the memories or if you take a picture, and then you have to begin the next time all over again and build another one.

I like to think of building sand castles on the beach when I think of what it means to live out our baptisms. Our baptisms are eternal--just as God is eternal, and how very much the sand and water at a beach appear eternal to us.  We are God's children forever, whatever we may do in this life.  But building sand castles is a little like the daily practice of living out our baptisms--we respond to others in acts of love, to make our world a better place.  Sometimes the good we do is preserved in the memories of ourselves and those around us; but really, each day, we get to begin again by loving people all over again--especially the people who are hurting and need extra love to heal those hurts.

Now, this can be a lot of work, really.  But, we shouldn't be discouraged, and we don't have to do it alone, because we know God is always with us, and because we have each other to support one another.  Even in those times when it seems like all the good we may do just gets washed away in this world, we can and should still do beautiful things whenever we can, acts of love...and, like sand castles, we may even have some fun doing it.  Thanks be to God for sand and water, the world around us, and the daily opportunity to live out our baptisms by loving one another!