The shoreline of your life

I like gnarled trees.

The burls and bumps give such character to the trunk.  I like to imagine what insects,
branches, disease or injury has caused that “beauty” mark.

I never grow weary of walking the beach.  Every day is new and different.  When it rains (it is the rainy season right now) the water throughout the city collects into the gutters and drains into an underground system that flows out onto the beach and into the sea.

On Wednesday morning, the water draining onto the beach from the waste pipes was profuse.  I counted 10 drainage “streams” along the beach.

Thursday, the deep gouges caused by the rushing drain water were gone and the beach looked flat and unmarred again.

I couldn’t help but ponder about the way those deep ravines or scars in the sand were there and then gone.  It caused me to think about our scars or sins or mistakes that can cause us to feel sorrow, ugliness, darkness and unhappiness and how we can access the Atonement of our Savior and those scars, sins and mistakes can be forgiven, forgotten and gone.   It may not happen overnight like the way the sea renews the beach after a storm but it can and will happen if we choose to follow the steps of repentance.

Jeffery N. Bunker, in a BYU Devotional speech, tells a story of starfish on the beach being like bad thoughts or sins.  He eloquently likens the power of the sea to the cleansing of our souls:

“Like the boy in the starfish story, our shore may be covered with dozens or perhaps even hundreds or thousands of starfish. We cannot remove them all alone. Fortunately, we do not have to. We can have our shores washed clean through the cleansing power of Christ’s Atonement. As part of the repentance process we must say no to the temptation and we must say yes to Christ’s cleansing blood of Gethsemane and the cross at Calvary. 

Through diligent and sincere repentance and through receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can have, as it were, a wave of the ocean roll onto the shores of our lives and cleanse them completely—not only of the unwanted starfish but of all debris. He who has power to calm the sea also has power to cleanse its shores. For each of us, this cleansing should be a continuous process, as rhythmic to our souls as the waves are to the sea. It is the Atonement of Christ that makes possible the ultimate tidal wave of complete redemption.”

I particularly like this statement:

“In time, you will one day look down at the shoreline of your life and see it washed clean, purified, and sanctified, and in the water’s reflection you will see the image of Christ in your countenance.”

We are cleansed from our sins at baptism.   We have the opportunity to repent daily and to renew our baptismal covenants weekly through the Sacrament.  Our Savior loves us and wants to forgive us of the scars and mistakes of our lives if we are only willing.  I know this to be true.  I invite you to study the scriptures and to learn of our Savior’s love for you.  He loves each of us and wants us to return to His presence one day.

The sea and beach are beautiful and as I said, change daily.

Some mornings are grey

Some mornings are pink

Some mornings are golden

This week I have seen purple jelly fish washed up onto the beach on three days.

My foot for comparison of size.  This jellyfish in the comparison pic was one of the smallest ones.

From Wikipedia:  Pelagia noctiluca is a jellyfish in the family Pelagiidae and the only currently recognized species in its genus. It is typically known in English as the mauve stinger, but other common names are purple-striped jelly (causing potential confusion with Chrysaora colorata), purple stinger, purple people eater, purple jellyfish, luminous jellyfish and night-light jellyfish. In Latin, pelagia means "of the sea", nocti stands for night and luca means light; thus, Pelagia noctiluca can be described as a marine organism with the ability to glow in the dark (bioluminescence). It is found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas, although it is suspected that records outside the North Atlantic region, which includes the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico, represent closely related but currently unrecognized species. 

A fairly small and variably coloured species, both its tentacles and (unusual among jellyfish) bell are covered in stinging cells. Stinging incidents are common, painful and the symptoms may continue for a considerable time after the encounter, but they are generally not dangerous. When large numbers of this oceanic species are washed ashore, the local economy can be affected because tourists avoid the beaches and fishers are stung while trying to retrieve their nets, which can be clogged by the jellyfish. Additionally, swarms of Pelagia noctiluca have been recorded wiping out entire fish farms. Because of this, it has become one of the most studied jellyfish species.

On Wednesday, a man and woman were struggling to carry a turtle out of the water to dry beach.  They said that it was weak and couldn’t hold up its head.  It really didn’t look too healthy.  One of its front legs was folded back under it.

They called marine life or animal control and were waiting for someone to come get the turtle.

Saturday afternoon I saw this woman collecting kelp in buckets.

 

I had heard that people use seaweed in their gardens here so when I got home I looked up info:

Seaweed is an excellent soil conditioner. It's free, widely available and packed with nutrients. Kelp in particular has high levels of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and natural growth hormones. Use as mulch, add to the compost bin or dig it into the soil. Seaweed can be used around both veges and flowers. 

Kelp breaks down faster if it's chopped up. Use a sharp spade or lay the kelp out on the lawn and run over it with the lawn mower.

Tuesday morning 3:09 A.M. I was not a happy camper!

 

We had another evacuation on Friday but at least it was 9:15 P.M. and not a wakeup in the middle of deep sleep!  The complex manager is assuring all that they are looking into the problem.  3 alarms in 8 days is a little much.

This weekend, my good friends and fellow missionaries, Elder and Sister Crossley finished their mission and headed home to Wyoming.  I will miss them!  They gave me a cute departing gift.

I walked through my hall one morning in bare feet to find that the carpet was wet.  The property
manager sent a plumber.  It seems there is a leak in the pipes in the wall.  He did something to keep
the water from coming into the apartment but they have not come back to fix the leak yet. 
The property manager told me that she had to get a couple of estimates on the job before she could get it fixed.
I told her I thought that it was fixed because it wasn’t coming into the apartment now.  I was told it
is leaking down into the car park instead.  Not sure when the work will be done. Meanwhile,
I have an interesting view of my plumbing.

Sunday evening I was invited to dinner at the home of Sister and Elder Lewis.  We had a tasty  meal of pork loin and vegetables, homemade rolls and crepes for dessert.  We will have some missionaries coming to the mission in the next few weeks and we were to discuss transportation and orientation.  However, we are not exactly sure when this will occur so we weren’t really able to do much planning.  These missionaries are New Zealand residents who were sent home from foreign missions.  Now that they have gone through their isolation period, they will be reassigned to one of the three New Zealand missions.

I neglected to get a photo of our delicious meal prepared by Sister Lewis.  One of my friends asked me why I didn’t post pics of my food last week.  Other than the Sunday meal, it was pretty routine again this week.

I have salad as often as I can.  I really like the combination of chicken or salmon with greens and fruit.

I buy a rotisserie chicken every week, as I have mentioned before.  This chicken sandwich
with cranberry sauce and Dijon mustard on multigrain bread is a favorite.
Quick, easy and fairly nutritious.

Monday morning it was raining hard but we walked anyway.  I actually like the rain.
Here I am touching the wall at the end of the beach with my foot
before turning around for the homeward bound trip.

Some days the clouds are low hiding Rangitoto Island in the bay.  Rain falls making
everything dark and gloomy but I choose to see this picture as a beautiful scene knowing
that “tomorrow” will be a brighter day.  My mother used to tell me that “every cloud has a
silver lining” and I believe that there is much goodness in life even when all around it may
seem dark and dreary.  Hang in there everyone and enjoy our adventure!

I love my Savior.  I love you my family and friends.