Bottomless

The lyrics to a favorite song of mine begin, "There are wonders in the Ocean that the beach cannot know..." The song then reprises, "I must go down deep to know the sea." I have always loved the song but last weekend I had an opportunity to witness first hand some of those hidden wonders of which the songwriter speaks.

My sweetheart and I celebrated our seventeenth wedding anniversary at Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. It is a favorite spot of ours and one that I have frequently visited since I was a small child. While we were there, the waiter at our bed and breakfast informed us that the tide was low and that we should drive four miles to Hug Point and check out some fascinating landscape. We heeded his advice and were not disappointed. There were caves to explore, sea creatures to photograph, and a waterfall cascading down the rock wall that, according to a fellow beachcomber, was featured in the film "Goonies." The next morning we checked out of our hotel and decided to take a last stroll on the beach. I have walked that stretch of beach near Haystack Rock numerous times and photographed it almost as often. This time with the tide being low, we were able to see an entire "Marine Garden" that we never knew existed near the base of the rock. As it turns out, Haystack is the largest of a number of rocks in the vicinity and each barnacled rock teems with life.

I see once again how the natural world emulates the spiritual. It is possible to live on the surface with the Lord and never discover the wonders that are hidden in Him. And, unlike the ocean, He is bottomless.