Whispers by the Sea
I recently spent ten days in the Carolina coastal region where I experienced more than a few reminders of God’s good gifts. Nature abounds in that area, beckoning one to unwind and appreciate its beauty. The expanse of salt water, southern moss, and the flights of sea foul are all more than enough to please the soul.
While strolling the beach, I witnessed seven elegant shorebirds gallivanting in the waves searching for lunch. Though initially I did not notice, one of them had only a single leg, its handicap barely perceptible, a mere whisper of its wholeness. It was resourceful and debonair and neither the bird nor its companions considered it disabled despite its missing appendage.
As I immersed my toes in the shallow water of the washing waves, I felt the peanut shell pattern that those waves had created on the hard sand. My granddaughter recently decorated each of my toenails with bright, pastel and neon nail polish revealing a rainbow contrast to the caramel sand and turquoise water. The result was exuberant and made me giggle aloud as I wiggled them in a dance and whispered “I love you” to the young artist missing from my side.
The previous weekend, while on the same beach with that granddaughter, I found an unblemished starfish that had lost its life to sun and dryness. I selfishly would not let her hold it because I wanted to preserve it as a souvenir. On this beach excursion without her, I came upon a barely alive starfish and after lifting it delicately from its sandy sickbed, gently tossed it back into the Sound, this time whispering to her, “I’m sorry, dear child.”
Retreating indoors through a nature trail, I spotted common milkweed among the local pines and ferns. Skipping from one to another was a yellow butterfly oblivious to the humans approaching with crunching footsteps. I admired its lack of inhibition as it whispered about unaware of how much its beauty thrilled me, particularly since it was innocent of conceit.
It rained that afternoon, a brief shower splattering the patio and filling the spring air with a reviving scent. Soon the sun reappeared and took its rightful place, luring me to sit by the seawall absorbing its rays while devouring a bowl of ice cream. I traced an incessant trill to a small bird in an ancient oak whose branches framed the water in the fishing port as though whispering a covert call for birds to come and rest on its limbs.
A blue heron landed nearby hoping to get a better view of the lazy fish he craved for supper. Unlike its busy kin from the beach or its chirping cousin in the tree, it remained still and quiet, waiting for the perfect snatching moment that may or may not arrive. I could have heard a sigh from the young boy fishing across the water but instead, I heard God’s voice whispering to me, “Treasure and enjoy this moment.”
Whenever we interrupt our normal routine to notice and absorb the physical world around us, we welcome the arousal of our spirit. No matter where we are, time passed in nature allows us to reclaim gratitude and recapture wonder. Tuning in to the whispers of the outdoors during the days spent in the Carolinas granted me respite, invited hope, and reminded me to be thankful for the here and now.