I am on holiday, enjoying some sand and sunshine. My house is entrusted to the care of a good friend. So is winter for another week. (Smile.)
Normally I would be beach combing aka shell hunting this time of the morning but decided to take a break. I am not used to a daily two hour walk! Mind you, my pace is a far cry from any Olympic speed records!
These walks have been accompanied by worship music and I've found myself singing along while musing upon the wonders of creation. Sanibel Island is built of shells deposited here by the whims of tide and wind through the millennia. The beaches are littered with them as the work of time continues.
They fascinate me although I have drastically curtailed the number I pick up because previous trips to this wonderful place have given me all I need. Only ones I don't have or ones that are nicer, bigger or better end up in the bag.
The variety of shells is staggering. I have found myself pondering mathematics and physics even though my knowledge of both is rather limited. I am aware of the symmetry and that the
laws of physics are the foundation of their form and structure. Then God threw in an abundance of colour laid down in a precise pattern. Yet, within the parameters of a species colour palette, there is freedom for an infinite and individual interpretation.
I have wondered what causes the colours...
There are ugly shells. Coarse, rough, or plain until you look inside. Shimmering mettalic blues and grays and pinks swirl and gleam in the light of day. It's like holding a nebula in the palm of your hand.
The white shell fell into my hands through the grace of God. It's kin range from light caramel to buckwheat honey brown. I dropped my shoe and as I bent over to retrieve it, there was this rare beauty partially covered by a blanket of seaweed. Had I not been stopped, it would have been missed. Unlike the many bleached and dull fossilized shells that end up washed ashore, this one still shines. Its absence of colour makes it rare indeed.
Sometimes we need to lose something to find something amazing.
I am grateful. To find myself flooded with an anticipatory feeling of awe and wonder makes these walks with God a treasure unto themselves.
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