Courage for Rough Waters

Our friend Ti Foltz likes to walk a beach near his home on Camano Island when life gets tense, just to watch the sunset and rejuvenate his soul.

After a particularly stormy day, weather wise and otherwise, Ti felt an urgency to go to the beach. But a phone call interfered and by the time he could leave, the sun had already dropped behind Whidbey Island. He decided it was too late, but he kept hearing an inner voice nagging him to go anyway.

Finally, he grabbed his jacket and made his way down the trail to Saratoga Passage. The wind pushed high waves and spray toward the shore. Drift logs and debris swirled and banged together in the surf. Ti was all alone on the beach. He’d missed the sunset. He noticed brant and other sea ducks paddling in the calmer water beyond the surf line. They seemed to be finding very little to eat. He watched a single duck swim toward shore, right into the chaotic surf. It dived to escape being crushed between colliding logs, then surfaced with a tender morsel of sand shrimp or crab. Over and over, the duck dived between the crashing logs or under them, each time coming up with something good to eat.

The rough water had stirred up the bottom dwellers, laying a feast for creatures brave enough to risk the dangers. One duck took full advantage of the feast, while the more timid water fowl went hungry. The One who provided for that brave little duck, thought Ti, is the same one who helps us find His riches in the middle of life’s storms.