It is 6:30 on a Sunday morning. I am sitting ten feet from the foamy surf of the Gulf of Guinea. As I face the waves, the sun is rising gently to my left and giving the water a green, silky glow. I am sitting in soft white sand under a coconut tree. There is no one else here.
I woke up early to sit by the sea. I’ve come for solitude, or rather for communion with one who is sometimes best met in a place like this – a place that is mighty and beautiful.
Many people that I love could sit with me, taking in the green salty sea, and I suppose their hearts would likewise be stirred with awe. Awe for what or whom they may not know. However, I cannot sit here in a place of human paradise without making attribution, without overflowing with gratitude for the author of beauty.
Many people who I love shrug uncomfortably when the word “God” is mentioned. Perhaps it is better to see rather than hear. I wish they could sit here with me. I wish they could bask in awe as they stand small and human before the mighty water. Then perhaps they would be moved by the stirring in the heart that softly whispers - This thing, this moment, this beauty… it is not an accident, it is a carefully selected, carefully orchestrated gift for one who is loved, one who is cherished… for you..
“Never question the truth of what you fail to understand, for the world is full of wonders. Above all, never question the truth beyond all understanding and surpassing all other wonders that in the long run nothing, not even the world, nor even our selves, can separate us forever from that last and deepest love that glimmers at dusk like a pearl, life a face.” Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey, page 112
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What a privilege to witness the breaking of a new day. Early this morning I sat on a bridge over the Sacramento River looking eastward and the sun was shimmering on the water. A flock of honking geese flew overhead in a V. The river was rushing and glistening under me and God was resplendant all around. Though alone, I thought of everyone I love and wanted them there too. Like heaven. I thought of you and Rob in Africa.
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