Sixth Week of Sabbatical

We spent this week at Carol and Merritt Dunford’s beach home in Ocean Shores.  My spiritual companions for this week were St. Aidan, renown for his generosity; St. Cuthbert and his holy gentleness; St. Hilda and her encouragement; St. Samathann’s ways of prayer; and St. Ciaran’s trust in God.  What came to the forefront was how God is within all of creation.  God’s creation is so central to Celtic Spirituality.  St. Cuthbert, from the Scottish lowlands, especially helped me be aware of the beauty of God’s creation wherever we are and in whatever we see, and to give thanks.  The pictures you’ll see are from the Dunford home, from walks on the beach, and from hiking in the Olympic National Park’s Hoh Rain Forest.  

At the Dunford home we saw bugs, bees, flies, birds, rabbits, trees, deer, raccoon; we saw grass blowing in the wind; and we saw light fog blowing wave after wave down their frontage road.  

At the beach we saw driftwood sculptures; flocks of pelicans, sandpipers, and seagulls; brilliant colored flowers; beachcombing bounty including sand dollars and shells--scallop, clam, and hermit crab shells.  I have never been so close to sea birds before! God led a brown dog to approach me, upon which the owner said, “This is a miracle- -my dog never goes up to people on his own.”  On one of our beach walks God brought to my attention a solitary man looking out at the waves for a long, long time.  As I watched him, I prayed for him.  Perhaps he was grieving a loss; just home from Afghanistan; just loved the ocean- -perhaps seeing it for the first time or after not seeing the Pacific Ocean for a very long time.  Another day on the beach I met a young mother and her two small girls.  This was her girls’ first beach visit and the woman’s first visit in many years.  Tom was so generous to give each girl a sand dollar.  The little girls danced with delight!! 

How does one express the beauty and grandeur of the Hoh Rain Forest?  Tom could not cease saying, Wow!  Wow! Wow!  We will let the pictures of our seven mile hike speak for themselves:   field of ferns, magnificent moss cover trees, sparkling glacial river water, a graceful waterfall, and the regeneration of floral life from a dead old growth tree stump.

Other activities we enjoyed and found renewing this week included playing games, putting together a beautiful bird puzzle, reading, and listening to a variety of soothing music.  On Sunday we worshipped at Chapel by the Sea Presbyterian Church in Pacific Beach where all are welcome, including a rabbit who followed me into the worship space.  It was good to renew our friendship with pastor Mark Dowdy and his wife Cheryl. 

All in all a great week of refreshment and renewal!      

Note:  I’ll be traveling to Minneapolis to visit the Church of All Nations next week, and then on to Providence Presbyterian Church in Rhode Island the following week.  My next blog post will be in two weeks upon my return.