Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Sabbatical Journal, Day Nine

DAY NINE

            We have the most gorgeous sunrises and sunsets here.  In addition, there has been a full moon the last two nights, the big moons that come up and seem to fill the night sky.  The moon seems to come up just as the sun is sinking into the Bay of Fundy leaving the sky with streaks of pink to paint the area above the bay.
            We were watching the sun go down into the bay last night, perched on some large rocks near the wharf when suddenly a little creature popped up between the rocks.  It ducked down just as fast as it popped up and then was up again in a different place not far from the first one.  It did this again and again, popping up and then ducking down, each time poking its head out a little more.  Soon, I could see that it was a little ferret, brown in color with a white streak on his stomach.  He was very cute and seemed to almost want to play with us as we were watching him come and go. 
            My first inclination was to go into the house and get some bread to throw to him but instead we just watched him as long as he would pop up to see us and then suddenly he was gone, hiding beneath the rocks again.  We went into the house as it was beginning to get dark and a little later I went back out to the rocks where we had seen the ferret to see if I could spot him again.  He was nowhere to be found but probably hiding below the rocks to keep safe from predators. 
            What joy is often revealed in the smallest of things, things that we often do not take notice of.  We were observing the setting of the sun, which is a big event when the sun is a big orange ball with streaks of pink and orange and purple lighting up the sky when suddenly one of the smallest of creatures popped up a few times as if he was trying to say hello to us.  His playfulness was intriguing to us and we wanted to see more of him but we experienced just enough to give us a happy ending to our day as we went inside to begin to wind down for the evening. 
            God’s love is often revealed to us in small ways.  We may search for it in the big things of life but often we find it when we take the time to notice the everyday and find something contained in it that speaks to our spirits.  God the Creator is at work in the world at all times and we are not always aware of what is in store for us as we simply learn to enjoy what is around us and who we are with.  It may be something that just pops up to make us happy when we least expect it or to remind us of the presence of God in our lives when we do not think about it. 

            Today was a busy day, beginning with a drive over to Digby to take care of the mundane things in life that must be done to continue living…doing laundry, buying groceries, but we still took time to drive through the community of Bear River where we had visited three years ago.  It looked much different from what it did when we were there before.  It seems like some businesses have closed.  Things did not seem very active and we simply drove through and back out again to go to Digby to do our chores.  We bought lobster sandwiches and ate them at the pretty park near the harbor where we have had several picnics before.  It is always clean and well cared for.  You can see the fishing boats coming and going as they take part in the busy scallop industry of the area. 
            We drove back to Parker’s Cove by way of a two lane road that hugs the shores of the Bay of Fundy.  It is a little slower than the main highway but it provides beautiful views of the water and the houses lining the shore.  That is always such a nice road to travel and takes longer but it is usually worth it, especially if you are not in a hurry as we were not today. 
            We reached our cottage and put away the groceries and had some coffee on the porch, watching the view before us that is always fascinating although it is basically the same as the tide comes and goes and the boats rise and fall with it.  There is a campground in the distance and vacationers also come and go and some of them walk over to the pier to fish or to look around, bringing their dogs and kids along to survey the view.  Perhaps some of them come to this area each week for a week to relax and fish and camp as they enjoy the slower pace of life they can find here rather than the cities where they live and work.  Their campers provide most of what they need but they also help the economy as we do purchasing food and supplies.
            The harbor got busy this evening with dump trucks coming and going constantly and a large crane digging in the mud below the wharf while the tide was out.  We sat on the porch watching the constant parade of trucks coming and going, each one taking a load of mud or silt or whatever that crane was digging and dumping in their beds so that they could take it away up the hill to be deposited elsewhere.  This went on for a couple hours as the tide began to come in view again and soon the driver of the crane had to begin his ascent up the hill and out onto the road before he was overtaken by the rising tide. 
            A sleepy fishing village can come alive, such as it did today and for a number of hours it is a busy place as is the rest of the world, and then, just as quickly as it became alive with activity, it can go back to sleep again as all those involved leave to resume their lives elsewhere.  Now, as the sun begins to go down once again, quiet is returning to Parker’s Cove and soon darkness will overtake us until the sun rises again tomorrow. 

            “The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises.  The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north, round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.  All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow. “(Ecclesiastes 1:5-7)

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