Nudies by the sea…
Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part. Hermann Broch
But he (the Lord) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (a) NIV
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1-4 NIV
The title of today’s blog was the name of my tidepool walk when I was a ranger at Redwood National Park. You can imagine that the name inspired many to join in on that walk! I guess a few were probably disappointed that “nudies” was short for “Nudibranchs”, one of my favorite tidepool creatures. Since not everyone has ever had the opportunity to visit a tidepool, let me give a brief definition of tidepools. These are areas found along some parts of ocean coasts where rocky coastline is inundated with ocean water twice per day due to high and low tides. When the tide goes out (low tide), pools of water are left behind. Animals who live in tidepools deal with extreme conditions from pounding waves to being temporarily trapped in little pools of water where they are more exposed to predators as well as intense sun and desiccating winds.
Nudibranchs have the rather unpleasant common name of “sea slugs” yet they are incredibly beautiful and very diverse in form and color. They are typically found only in lower tide areas where the tidepools are exceptional; such tidepools harbor all kinds of sea algae, such as kelp and sea lettuce as well as many interesting sea creatures. Most nudibranchs are only an inch or two in length but have interesting shapes and, often, bright colors due to consuming sea anemones (another blog). It’s fascinating that they are so very small and delicate, yet they live in the turbulent world of tidepools.
We live in a turbulent world too. Sometimes all is going smoothly while other times, it feels like we are being tossed about in an endless series of emotional ocean waves. What can keep us going when life is hard? Faith! We can know that God is always with us, providing love, comfort, guidance, joy, and peace through the Holy Spirit. We can be sure that though the tides of this life come and go, when the final tide of our life in this world goes out, we have the assurance of a joyful eternal life. We are fragile as a sea slug living in this turbulent world, but God is our strength and hope.