This photo was taken on Kiawah Island, near the northern end of the beach. I was surprised to see eagles because I couldn’t remember ever seeing them at Kiawah in the past. Plus, I was out biking and just happened to look over to the dune and see them standing there not too far away.

As I read about the distribution of bald eagles in the US, I was surprised to find out that they are year round residents of the Atlantic Coast. We recently returned from Alaska, another place the bald eagle resides year round. So I shouldn’t have been surprised (but I was) when I saw two on the beach near downtown Anchorage.

What makes for a surprise? The unexpected, of course but what separates the expected from the unexpected? We are surrounded by God’s gifts, how many do we take “for granted” and how many do we truly delight in?