It’s Too Crowded!… Or is it?

If you’re like me, then you prefer remote outdoor experiences over crowded ones, and so you can imagine I was not very happy when I went to an extremely busy beach a few years ago.  I was there for a family reunion and it was as busy as could be.  There were long lines at both entrances, and my uncle had to go early just to find us a good spot.

When I got there I couldn’t get over how it was “too” noisy, crowded and busy.  There were just “too many people.”  “Where did these people come from?,”  I wondered.  “Why couldn’t they have chosen another beach or another day?”

I swam, ate, played, but I was silently annoyed with the crowds, until…

My family noticed how more and more people were leaving their campsites to get into the water.  Like a ripple, it started far up the beach until the wave of swimmers made it to our camp.  What were they doing?

We were perplexed until the man in front of this wave finally approached my family and informed us in a very worried voice that his 4 year old daughter in a pink swimsuit was missing.  He was traveling down the beach asking everyone and anyone if they had seen her.

My stomach sank and my lungs tightened.

Now we understood why people were getting in the water.  They were looking for a girl that could be in serious trouble.  

Where was she?  All of a sudden the beach went from too crowded, to not complete.  Just a few minutes earlier I would have loved for not one but all the other beach visitors to clear out, but not anymore, because I realized someone precious was missing.  Someone who belonged on the beach was gone and needed to be brought back.

My family entered the water nervously searching for a little girl as the father continued frantically down the long beach.  

With much more awareness, we also introduced ourselves to our umbrella neighbors and questioned one another about possibly seeing a little girl without anyone even noticing.

My uncle notified the police about the situation, and then we did what we could to have fun, but the beach wasn’t the same. How can you have fun when a little girl is missing?  All we could do was hope that she would be found.  

Luckily, finally, about 40 minutes later, we heard a truck honking its horn and returning up the beach.  When we turned around we were relieved to see the father standing in the bed of the truck with the little girl in his arms.  He smiled and showed off his precious prize as the entire beach stood up, clapped, smiled at one another and cheered!  

Thinking about it now still makes me teary.  

I wish you could have been there.  It was so loud and joyful.  Nothing that day could compare, because no toy, food, game, song, cute swimsuit, or good weather would have made a crowd come together like that or smile that big.  The lake was cool, but the best part of that day was watching the little girl return to her family.

I have thought about that day many times through the years, because it taught me a lot about the value of a single life.  It taught me how a busy beach can be better than a remote one, how a full table can be more joyful than an exclusive one, and how being in a community is full of wonderful opportunities.

Maybe this story is meant for the summer, but I bring it up now because I hope this season when it feels too busy, or too crowded that you remember that someone is alone, wandering, and lost. The little girl in my story had walked at least a mile down that beach without anyone noticing.  The beach wasn’t full of bad people, but it definitely wasn’t full of very aware people.  If we had taken time to get to know the people around us it would have been more obvious there was a little girl that was new or a little too far from her family.  

That day I was a random lady on the beach, but at different times of my life I have felt like a lost little girl, wandering in a sea of people.  I still believe in quiet moments of solitude, but I also believe in embracing the people around you.  

This season I’ve decided to enjoy the wild that comes with it.  I’m going to embrace the big diverse personalities, the busyness, the imperfections, the loud children, and the busy schedule.  I’m going to reach out when I feel like going home and I’m going to give when I feel like taking, because there are people out there who need a little more buddy the elf instead of Sarah the grinch.

Kids, this season, show people you love them.  Especially the invisible people.  You will find more joy this season looking out for people in your school, team, family, and parties who are lost than in all the Christmas gifts you could possibly get.