Nativity Catholic Church
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GULF-SCAPADES...Random
Observations from Lido Key It’s the month of June and the taste of salt water and sunshine is getting closer, as I anticipate some vacation time in a couple of weeks. Before heading off to create new “escapades” at the Gulf of Mexico, allow me to share some random observations that I first penned a number of years ago while on vacation to Lido Key. Perhaps you may want to find your own spot of sand, take a nice umbrella-decked beverage in hand…and then…read on! SEA FOAMSea foam is a curious creation of the ocean tides. At times, it seems as if someone after deciding to complete this week’s laundry in the ocean currents, has loaded up with too much detergent! The foam is light and airy. I suppose, in a way, that sea foam is the Gulf Coast’s answer to Texas tumbleweed. Its rolling mounds of bubbles toss and tumble along the water’s edge, ambling aimlessly until they hit the shore and are driven in all directions by a humid, summer eve’s sea breeze. Yet, it strikes me that these whimsical creations are brought into being from the agitation of the sea. Out of the traumatic movement of the waters eventually comes a creations that seems to suit no important purpose, fulfills no significant need. From the agitation of the sea come these mounds of fluffy fluid and air, eventually rolling into oblivion. Sometimes the agitations that are stirred in the “waters” of our own lives, that erupt from within the “sea” of our own daily experiences, produce nothing more than whimsical, purposeless results. So often, the nervous, agitated, ponderous, distracting movement from within us, which at the time they are occurring, seem to us to be destined to produce momentous changes or disruptions in our lives, result in little more than fluffy tumbleweeds, eventually rolling their way into oblivion. How patient are we during these periods of agitation? Can we be more trusting in God that the upsetting movements within us will not always produce dramatic, traumatic results? TINY BIRDS PECKING IN THE SANDIt is fascinating to observe the tiny birds that make their living pecking in the sand as the tides roll in and out. As the waters recede from the sands, the birds, streaking forward, quickly dig for their nourishment, plucking microscopic tidbits from beneath the sand. As the waters crash back into the shore, their nearly invisible legs, no thicker than match sticks, move in lightening quick rhythm as they scurry up shore for safety. Their time is spent in continuous chasing of the waves back and forth, waiting for the proper moment to race forward with the ebbing tide, pecking gently below the surface, trying to grab what they can before they have to run away again. Sometimes it seems, as we chase our own nourishment, our own happiness, even our spiritual fulfillment, we are like these tiny, sand-probing birds. Our pace is frenetic; we are often frightened by the waves, the in and out movement of the world around us; we only seem to scratch the surface, barely gaining bits and pieces of what we really need to feed us. How much our approach to the nourishment God can provide is like the feeding patterns of these tiny, fragile creatures! YES, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN SANDA classic argument exists between the learned and the inexperienced beachcombers; in fact, it is the easiest way to tell the difference between someone “in the know” and a “pretender.” Yes, there are different kinds of sand! Oh sure, on first glance anyone can see that there are differences in color, especially depending upon which coast one happens to be traversing. But to the observant beach stalker, no matter what sandy shoreline one sinks his or her feet into, one encounters different types of sandy surfaces. There’s the soft, sinking wet sand that quickly envelopes one’s toes, yet firm enough to keep one from being swallowed. There’s the coarse, bristly sand, the kind that scratches the bottom of one’s feet and heats up to scorching temperatures on cloudless summer days. There’s the shell-ridden variety, the kind that creates a tortuous path like walking on broken eggshells or sharp pieces of glass strewn about the kitchen floor after dropping a jar. This sandy terrain calls for a keen eye, especially vigilant in search of errant pieces of shell that jut out from the surface, ready to make a good slice in one’s foot. There’s the smooth, creamy sand, just washed over by the tides, that appears silky to the touch. There’s the swirling, striated sand, which the water leaves behind in signature-sweeps like the dunes of a desert ridge. These various sand terrains are reminiscent of the various terrains that comprise the landscape of our daily living, the encounters we have with God’s Spirit. Walking the “beach” that is our own life, we encounter a variety of textures and tones—such is the graciousness and whimsy of our loving God!
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