FOOTPRINTS ON THE SAND

The familiar Cantonese spurting out from the google box made me grin from ear to ear. For a very, very long time, I have not heard such beautiful and resonant language from the broadcast of TV drama serials. And it occupied me for hours after dinner for three consecutive nights. I was fully engaged and had no time for my gadgets, friends or books.

Day time was equally enjoyable, listening to the gentle rushes of water beating against the shore, one wave after another, faithfully and unfailingly creating a continuous stream of spa effect, relaxing and calming the heart, mind and soul.

The beach is seemingly unending and uniformly one long stretch of costal sand. But they are very different in texture; some parts melt in the feet like quicksand, some sank in only with the stamping of the feet, others pricked the soles with the coarseness of coral debris. Walking on sand is sensationally therapeutic. 

As I walked the stretch, my eyes were trained and fixated on the seashells scattered amongst the sand particles. The bigger and more common ones were all strewn along the beach surface while the smaller and more unique ones lay underneath and hidden. Gems are never found on or near the surface. They need to be harnessed and harvested through hard work. I spent laborious but joyous hours picking and bagging beautiful seashells unwanted and forsaken by the sea which became my precious heartful collection. They commented that I was like a kid with his whole attention captivated by the sea and shells and capable of spending hours on the beach; once at sea, reluctant to return to shore.  But I will return when the time comes.

Jesus says too He will be back when the time is near.

Matthew 24:36

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father

The road ahead is long and arduous, especially under the scorching heat of the sun and the lashing blow of the wind. It was like a workout and it burned calories. After a short distance, my lips were parched and my throat coarse. It felt fainting under the strong blazing light. It substantiates the truth in the bible that God is light and who can stand?

Exodus 33:20-23 (God spoke when Moses wanted to see His face)

20 But, he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." 

As I stretched out for my thirst quencher, I saw numerous footprints. It suddenly dawned on me that in life, I couldn’t have traveled thus far without God’s grace. Sometimes I walked my way and trudged my paths with my own strength and wisdom. Many other times, unconscious to me and only on hindsight, it was He who carried me through. I thank you for your footprints on the sand.

It was my virgin attempt to learn snorkeling. As the lessons were conducted near shore, the water was murky and the visibility was low. But I had so much fun and I loved it. I felt clumsy wearing the flippers which seemed to be in my way, all the time. I felt I did better without them. Maybe I will try again next time.

Because I haven’t mastered the snorkeling technique yet, I always got choked with sea water especially when I got really excited upon spotting some unique things. There was a moment of shock when I thought I had drifted out to deeper sea on sighting a school of fishes, each about 1 feet in length which swam past me at a distance of just 2 feet away. My pulse raised, my mind in a swirl, my mouth filled with sea water. Exhilaration robbed my ability to breathe normally. I cannot imagine the intensity of emotions and excitement if I will really witness them in clear waters! What a great joy to be with and also watch God’s lovely sea creatures.

For me, the ocean is a love hate relationship. I love the sea but the bible tells us that the sea is the abode of the dark, the unknown, the beast. And Revelations says there will be no more sea in the new world order. I got a little saddened and asked, Will I ever see whistling whales, dancing dolphins, snaring sharks and nimbly nemos again in the next life?

Rev 21:1

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. 

As unpredictable and unstable as a child’s emotions, the sea may be calm and tame this moment and the next minute, turned uncontrollable, crying loudly for attention and throwing tantrums violently. This is the nature of the ocean.

I witnessed the range of emotions of the sea; if sunny side up, allowing basking activities of leisure walks, swimming, snorkeling, and sunbathing. Without much warning, the sky loomed grey and dark billows of clouds gathered and spanned the skyline almost immediately. The roaring of the waters beating and lashing against the coastline intensified. The wind blew stronger and the waves gathered greater strength, gushing in fiercely and pulling out forcefully, dragging away everything underneath it. Even our weights failed to withstand the powerful currents and we fell backwards hurting our bumps. Before we knew it, another wave moved in, unbalancing our gait, bruising our bodies and slapping our faces.

As I sat on the sand dazed by the fall, I was stunned by the overpowering force of the sea building itself and gathering momentum, intensity and speed, wave after wave, until it snowballed into a 0.7 meter high wall of water breaking at shore and collapsing on me, all within a matter of seconds. I was mini tsunami-ed. When I mentally multiplied the exponential power of the force to 10x or more, my senses suddenly awakened and hurriedly scurry to safety, to higher ground, to safety.

Every morning we were awakened by the sharp calls of hornbills. They usually perched on a tree just outside our room and we were always treated to a good view of their movements. Amazing sight. They often come in pairs and it was delightful to watch them especially when the female picks up food for the male. Who says only human beings show love?

One morning stroll, we met a pair of geese. The male was as tall as 1.3 meters and weighty. As we approached them, he craned his neck and tried aggressively to peck at us. On several occasions, unknown to him, we were equally frightened by his fierce, attacking posture. The other goose was so different in nature. All the time, she merely strolled on without bothering herself with the happenings around her. She just could not care less; very unperturbed.

On the last day, it rained heavily, from dusk to dawn. As it was a heavy downpour, we could not go elsewhere for dinner like we did the previous nights where we roamed the streets and other inns and resorts for food. We were glad that the restaurant at our inn was finally opened for business after several days of closure. What more can we ask for, we could still sample delicious and delectable seafood just at our doorsteps without getting drenched in the rainstorm.

It was a display of excellent timing of God’s provision for us as He did for Jonah. Just as God provided a shade for Jonah to ease discomfort, he likewise held back the downpour to allow us to pass undrenched and leave for the ferry as scheduled.

I will always treasure these experiences and pray that these lessons learned will continue to fill the vault of my faith and beef up the knowledge of God, the creator of all things and Him all the glory and praise.

Jonah 4:6

Then God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort and Jonah was very happy about the vine.

alexjoshua 18 Sep 2008