PEAS on a Beach

My sons and I sat on the white, sandy beach of Waikiki. We'd traveled there to celebrate my 50th birthday. As we stared out at the beautiful Pacific, we talked openly and honestly about the turn our lives had taken, and how we'd untangle the future.

During the conversation, I was reminded of something I'd only recently been made aware of: my sons and I seem to have a natural tendency to encourage others. When I'm at work, or out to dinner with friends, or out shopping, it's become natural to say something nice to someone. When my sons are at school or at work, other people are drawn to their inclusive and caring dispositions. I used to view this personality trait as no big deal, but now I see it for what it is: a gift.

As wave after wave crashed against the shore, an idea was born: what if we widened our reach and helped other people? Not just our co-workers and friends, although that's wonderful. What if we created a way to help strangers? People who've lost hope and their will? What if people were experiencing trauma and chaos, and needed someone to turn to? This was something that was within our reach. It was something we were naturally equipped to do.

We'd ordered pizza on the beach, so I grabbed a Dominoes napkin and wrote:

Encouragement
Advice
Support

That crumpled napkin sat in my purse for months, kind of forgotten in all the chaos going on in our own lives. Until October, when I read something about "...one God-given idea." I'd felt it was a God-given idea right there on the beach, but I hadn't done anything with it. Now I felt compelled to do something with it.

What name could we give it? We began with E, A, and S. Not sure what to do with that, but let's marinate on it for a while. Then I attended a prayer vigil put on by my church, to support the victims and survivors of the Las Vegas shooting. That's when it hit me: add P for prayer. The most vital ingredient. I called the boys on my way home, excited. Our name would be PEAS (prayer, encouragement, advice, support).

We dove in. We created the site, and www.peashelp.com was born. We created a youtube channel. We created social media accounts. It's all still in the infancy stage, but it's out there. We're ready to help others. Our pain will not be wasted.

My hope is that you'll visit peashelp.com whenever you need prayer, encouragement, advice, or support. Simply choose a button, and you'll receive a confidential response. Also, by subscribing to our youtube channel, you'll never miss a video. And please, spread the word. You never know what other people are going through.

Until next time...