Jimmys Renderings 6-29-14 My favorite time at the beach is early morning—and I mean very early morning—when people are sleeping in, savoring the opportunity to languish a bit and not confronted by schedules and demands of the regular world. My inner clock still awakens me on my normal schedule and gives me a gift. I sit on the balcony and watch as the sun rises and the beach awakens. One morning, I was struck by the amount of activity going on around me. I counted 20 boats on the water fishing and cruising with signs touting half-day or full-day tours, adventures or rides. I saw sea gulls dipping into the water, no doubt after prey. I saw a man fishing, who had three poles set in holders along the water. He scrambled when one of the poles tipped, indicating a bite. He reeled and reeled—seldom disappointed, but sometimes surprised by the catch. This day, he caught a shark. Another man meandered down the beach, wandering back and forth. I could not tell what he was doing until he got closer. He was wearing headphones and waving a wand, obviously a metal detector used to search for treasure along the beach. He was searching for what others had lost. Once in a while he would stop, drop to his knees and dig. He was disappointed at times, and I even saw him double back four times to one place. Other times, he put the coin, jewelry, or other treasure in the pocket of his swim trunks. I also saw a four-wheel vehicle checking the beach, the chairs and the umbrellas. There was even a plane that flew over now and then, obviously surveying the beach. In the early morning, that world was teeming with creatures and people who were looking for something. They began early, before the congestion and clutter of the beach would be in the way. Some looked for things others had lost; some looked for sustenance; some looked to begin the day’s commerce; some looked for trash; some wandered along looking for peace; and some, like me, were observing what was happening. Some of the gifts God gives us are the gifts of observation and paying attention to the world around us. There is so much to see and experience, yet in our busy world we miss it. Perhaps the best way to worship God is to pause and pay attention to the world into which we have been born. There are treasures to find, sustenance to find that will nurture body and soul, quests to complete, peace to find and God to experience. The only way this will ever take place is if we calm our world and, in a mellow sense, just sit for a while as we awaken to the world around us. There is a part of our being that says this is a waste of time . . . we need to be doing something! There is a spiritual need and permission that reminds us that this kind of meditative awareness is doing something—something vital and significant. The scripture reminds us to Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). That is merely a call to embrace the real world with a searching heart, long before the clutter of life crowds out our awareness of a God who loves the quiet, still things best. While we were at the beach, a storm blew up in the evening with a fury that was accentuated by lightening and booming thunder that rattled the windows. It lasted only a short time and then we experienced peace, cool and the quiet whoosh of the waves again. God loves quiet best, for He storms for only a moment and then settles back into the quiet. The storms give us perspective, just as my morning did. With all that searching for various things on the beach, I was fascinated by the differences. I wondered what drew all the searchers together. It was then that a still small voice reminded me that God has a view of what everyone is searching for, and He is our best guide to finding what our soul desires. Your Pastor, Jimmy
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 20:25:16 +0000
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