April 9th

Read: Psa. 92:4-5; 40:5; 94:19; 139:2,17,23; Proverbs 16:3

I enjoy walking on sandy ocean beaches to see what the tides carry in. I have found some lovely small shells on Indian Rocks Beach in Florida, a conch shell on a small Bahamian Island, cuttlefish bones on the beach at Hastings, England, and a very strange looking creature, unknown to me, on a beach on Dauphin Island in Mobile Bay. Seeing the ways of the sea with its shores, small waves lapping at the strand on placid days, long rollers carrying flotsam and jetsam high up on the beaches, and the high crashing waves of a stormy day, reminds me of the way thoughts are brought to me by the dear Holy Spirit of God.

Sometimes when I am quiet, small gentle thoughts enter for my consideration. When I am stirred and active, the thoughts are apt to bring new ideas, new focus, strong reactions. In it all I learn more of my God and of myself.

ALLUVION*
The flotsam, jetsam thoughts
Cast forth by the rolling sea,
Thoughts to the surface brought
By the tides inside of me,
A memory held dear
Or fear’s unbidden scream,
A concept crystal clear
From some forsaken dream,
Of these most will be tossed
Unused upon the beach,
Their conscious imprint lost
Where daily-life thoughts reach.

And then will come a thought so bold,
So lucid as ’tis borne
High on the strand, where bright as gold
It lives, complete, untorn,
So different from the wastrel scheme
Or castles in the air,
That I must gather and redeem
And burnish it with care,
And, burnishing, must make it mine,
A guidepost on my way,
A beam from spark within, divine,
The life-spark in this clay.
*Alluvion … The wash or flow of water against the shore.

Prayer: Thank You, dear God, for the Christ-mind in me. Help me always to learn from You and focus all my thoughts upon You.