Not sure what time it is.
Judging by position of sun in the sky, somewhere close to 4pm.
Sitting on a green bench down by the pier out to Lake Superior. Sitting in the shadow of the Canal Park lift bridge, to my right 100 yards. This is where man belongs. Outside. Seagulls fly around my head. This is their home. On my walk from Rose Garden to Canal Park, I observed many a beautiful thing. Not too long ago, I would have seen these things. And kept going about my merry little life.
This time I noticed them.
My observations:
God Takes Care of Seagulls.
Walking towards the pier, a young girl of maybe 8-years old, still so much in innocence and in awe of everything simple, stood in a field of grass throwing bread crumbs to the seagulls who surrounded her in numbers not easily counted. She giggled and looked excitedly at her mom -- who was preoccupied with something in their car. The seagulls swooned about and spoke to her. In their own way thanking her for the food. As I sit here thinking of the girl with the seagulls, my mind wanders to Your Word where You spoke about even the sparrows having their needs met. The young girl was meeting a need of the seagulls while also feeding her own wonder. You take care of us just like the girl and the seagulls -- standing in the midst of us with a bag of bread crumbs enough for all of us, food which does more than satisfy hunger. You take care of us. In simple ways. In ways not under our control. And you take joy in doing so. You stand there in amazement of Your creation. And (I have to believe) You even let out a little harmonious laugh as You wonder over the simple pleasure of the food which you offer. Well, I say thank You! It's yummy.
Water-Locked Rocks.
I also observed on my walk some rocks just off shore. Probably 20 of them. Large. Separated from the shoreline. Sticking up just enough to be above the water line when waters are calm. But the waters were not calm today. As I watched, waves were crashing against the little patch of rocks. CRASH CRASH CRASH!!! The rocks found themselves surrounded and alone. The water would roll in fast and smack the rocks, shooting upward and falling all over the rocks. If rocks needed oxygen they would barely have enough time to catch their next breath before the subsequent wave arrived. As I thought through this scene, I let my mind wander to those times in my life when I was one of those rocks, with waves crashing against me, making it hard to breathe and stay above the suffocating waters. The waters of life and events which seem to pick up from nowhere like a westward wind off the lake. Things out of our control. All we can do is sit there and take it. CRASH CRASH CRASH!!! Sitting separated from my shoreline. Exposed. We get pounded sometimes. But You showed in Your Word that You have power even over the wind and waves. The rocks that I observed never budged. They never moved from their place. They stood their ground. This is what You can help us do when we're one of those rocks. How refreshing even the nastiest wave can be.
A Bee Resting on a Wall.
I also observed, while walking back from the pier to this bench that I now sit on, a bee sitting on the cement pier wall. It was strange. Bees don't just sit there. They fly. They always seem to be moving. And if you see them sitting on anything, it's a flower. But a cement wall? Good luck trying to pollinate that, buddy! Moments before I had seen the little bee, a Vista Star Fleet tour boat crossed our path, having just passed under a risen lift bridge and heading out into the depths of Lake Superior. I don't know what the bee was thinking, but he sure seemed to be watching the ship pass. And why not? The bee was tired, having fought a day of Northern Minnesota wind. He needed a resting place. To breathe. He seemed completely unfazed by my presence. Think about how small he is compared with us and the world-mindset we live in. It is humbling to note that in comparison we are not so much bigger in the world that we live. We just tend to think we are.
Sometimes we get tired. We need a resting place. And something to delight our two eyes (imagine having 5 eyes like the bee). God, You are like that scene. A wall to rest upon when the trials of moving about in the wind gets to be too much. And You want to delight our eyes every moment. With something way bigger than we are. Maybe a tour boat. Maybe a budding tree. Maybe a flower garden. Or a mountain range in a foggy distance. Or maybe some rocks getting hammered by waves. Or a little girl throwing bread crumbs to the birds. To remind us -- just how small we really are. And show us how flippin HUGE You are.
(Journal entry today while taking a walk along the lakewalk. The observations made. The little things noted. Trying to see things through different eyes. Trying to never get complacent with things even as small as a bee sitting on a pier cement wall.)
Judging by position of sun in the sky, somewhere close to 4pm.
Sitting on a green bench down by the pier out to Lake Superior. Sitting in the shadow of the Canal Park lift bridge, to my right 100 yards. This is where man belongs. Outside. Seagulls fly around my head. This is their home. On my walk from Rose Garden to Canal Park, I observed many a beautiful thing. Not too long ago, I would have seen these things. And kept going about my merry little life.
This time I noticed them.
My observations:
God Takes Care of Seagulls.
Walking towards the pier, a young girl of maybe 8-years old, still so much in innocence and in awe of everything simple, stood in a field of grass throwing bread crumbs to the seagulls who surrounded her in numbers not easily counted. She giggled and looked excitedly at her mom -- who was preoccupied with something in their car. The seagulls swooned about and spoke to her. In their own way thanking her for the food. As I sit here thinking of the girl with the seagulls, my mind wanders to Your Word where You spoke about even the sparrows having their needs met. The young girl was meeting a need of the seagulls while also feeding her own wonder. You take care of us just like the girl and the seagulls -- standing in the midst of us with a bag of bread crumbs enough for all of us, food which does more than satisfy hunger. You take care of us. In simple ways. In ways not under our control. And you take joy in doing so. You stand there in amazement of Your creation. And (I have to believe) You even let out a little harmonious laugh as You wonder over the simple pleasure of the food which you offer. Well, I say thank You! It's yummy.
Water-Locked Rocks.
I also observed on my walk some rocks just off shore. Probably 20 of them. Large. Separated from the shoreline. Sticking up just enough to be above the water line when waters are calm. But the waters were not calm today. As I watched, waves were crashing against the little patch of rocks. CRASH CRASH CRASH!!! The rocks found themselves surrounded and alone. The water would roll in fast and smack the rocks, shooting upward and falling all over the rocks. If rocks needed oxygen they would barely have enough time to catch their next breath before the subsequent wave arrived. As I thought through this scene, I let my mind wander to those times in my life when I was one of those rocks, with waves crashing against me, making it hard to breathe and stay above the suffocating waters. The waters of life and events which seem to pick up from nowhere like a westward wind off the lake. Things out of our control. All we can do is sit there and take it. CRASH CRASH CRASH!!! Sitting separated from my shoreline. Exposed. We get pounded sometimes. But You showed in Your Word that You have power even over the wind and waves. The rocks that I observed never budged. They never moved from their place. They stood their ground. This is what You can help us do when we're one of those rocks. How refreshing even the nastiest wave can be.
A Bee Resting on a Wall.
I also observed, while walking back from the pier to this bench that I now sit on, a bee sitting on the cement pier wall. It was strange. Bees don't just sit there. They fly. They always seem to be moving. And if you see them sitting on anything, it's a flower. But a cement wall? Good luck trying to pollinate that, buddy! Moments before I had seen the little bee, a Vista Star Fleet tour boat crossed our path, having just passed under a risen lift bridge and heading out into the depths of Lake Superior. I don't know what the bee was thinking, but he sure seemed to be watching the ship pass. And why not? The bee was tired, having fought a day of Northern Minnesota wind. He needed a resting place. To breathe. He seemed completely unfazed by my presence. Think about how small he is compared with us and the world-mindset we live in. It is humbling to note that in comparison we are not so much bigger in the world that we live. We just tend to think we are.
Sometimes we get tired. We need a resting place. And something to delight our two eyes (imagine having 5 eyes like the bee). God, You are like that scene. A wall to rest upon when the trials of moving about in the wind gets to be too much. And You want to delight our eyes every moment. With something way bigger than we are. Maybe a tour boat. Maybe a budding tree. Maybe a flower garden. Or a mountain range in a foggy distance. Or maybe some rocks getting hammered by waves. Or a little girl throwing bread crumbs to the birds. To remind us -- just how small we really are. And show us how flippin HUGE You are.
(Journal entry today while taking a walk along the lakewalk. The observations made. The little things noted. Trying to see things through different eyes. Trying to never get complacent with things even as small as a bee sitting on a pier cement wall.)
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