Ripples

It is a two walk kind of day. My mind just won't settle to write a sermon, so I did what I always do when I need some peace. I walked to the shore. I found a perch above the Great Tide Pool and watched an egret for a long time. There were seals, too, slowly swimming and turning in the shallows. The noise of the waves did its magic and pushed out the noise in my head. And as I breathed, the slow movement of water in the tide pool caught my eye.

The waves that crash so mightily into the rocks on the shore are mere ripples in the tide pool. As the water approaches, it is tamed by the rocks that protect this unique environment. It got me thinking. When we are feeling overwhelmed, what are the things that protect us? What brings the waves down to a manageable size?

For me, it is the shore, that wonderful combination of granite and water and sand and the magical things that happen in and around them. But it is also community. It is the people with whom I have nurtured deep relationships over many years. We are holding each other up from opposite sides of the continent. Even over Zoom, which is how we are able to be together, the support I feel from my people gives me life and hope. I know the feeling is mutual.

Reach out to someone today, whether you are in desperate need of connection or not. The person on the other end may need you to help tame the waves. And in doing so, perhaps your waves will be transformed into ripples, too.