21 Things .09

The Ocean's Song

                "Full many a spot
Of hidden beauty have I chanced to espy
Among the mountains; never one like this
So lonesome, and so perfectly secure;
Not melancholy - no, for it is green
And bright and fertile...
- In rugged arms how softly does it lie.
How tenderly protected!... were this
Man's only dwelling, sole appointed seat,
First, last, and single in the breathing world,
It could not be more quiet: peace is here
Or nowhere."

At least that's what William Wordsworth was moved to write as he wandered near Blea Tarn in England's Lake District. I hope one day to see the place that inspired the pens of so many 19th century poets, but reading the words above with my limited travel experience, I see not the lakes, "vales and hills" of England but the rugged West Coast of Canada. It is my Lake District; my favourite place in the world.
There is a visceral sense of freedom, peace, and unbroken spirit in the salty breeze, the constant crash of the waves, the lush, weathered forests, the creatures hiding in the tide pools, and the dense fogs that lift in the evenings to reveal glorious sunsets.

I can't say I've spent much time there, but it was where I was introduced to the ocean; something I can no longer imagine living without nearby. Its been a year since I've been there; much has happened since, and I'm anticipating a trip there soon with my family!

There is something so comforting in the fact that no matter what I do or where I go, the tide moves methodically in and out on those beloved shores (as they do everywhere). The reason this comforts me is that I know Who has established and given boundaries to those waves (Proverbs 8:27-29). The Lord continues to uphold them and all of the creatures that live there: "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:26). 
As I work, and think (and worry) about the future - tuition costs in particular - so close but so far from the peaceful shores of the ocean, I take comfort in such words.