I just got home from a great weekend at the beach. A few of us went to Pensacola to get away for a few days and ring in the New Year. New Year's Eve has lost it's excitement for me. Since I'm over the hype of needing something really exciting to do, the thought of going to the beach with just a few people was extremely inviting to me. I'm not exactly sure how many people were supposed to be there, but as always happens when a group gets together, people dropped out for one reason or another. So, at final count on Saturday morning, 6 girls and 2 guys set out on the road.
Two guys in the midst of 6 girls, for 4 days, might not sound very fun to begin with, but imagine being one of those two guys, and not really knowing anyone. Not only did Russ brave the trip, but I honestly don't think we would have laughed quite as much had he not been there. I will even go so far as to say he "made" the weekend. It was so much fun to watch him interact with everyone and then feel completely free to do his own thing, like: telling complete strangers that he liked some article of clothing they had on, meeting the neighbors and hanging out with them (I think he may have gotten a little bored with us a couple of times; did I mention he's 21?), going to the beach at 3:00 in the morning just because he wanted to, or swimming in the ocean even though it was freezing. He was just fun to be around and talk to and watch.
It was a good weekend and unlike any beach trip I've ever been on. There are several funny stories, one or two embarrassing moments, some good memories, and we gained a new appreciation for the word "devastating", but the best part for me was to watch each person in our group interact with Russ. I don't know much about his life (I know more now than I did), or his background, or where he is spiritually, but I saw the Body of Christ act as it is supposed to; we just loved on him, took an interest in him, and accepted him, no questions asked (honestly though, it wasn't hard to do). I hope Russ will continue to hang out with us. In one way or another, I think we all benefited from meeting him this weekend.
On another topic: if anyone reading this has ever been to Pensacola with me, or knows who I went with, please let me know...either I've been there in the past few years or I had major Deja' Vu. I didn't think I had been to Pensacola since I was a child but as we were driving into Pensacola Beach, things began to look incredibly familiar. I think we ate at McGuire's Pub also. Please tell me I'm not losing my mind!
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