You can listen to this week’s Devotional here
Author: Joanne O’Keefe
How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small. Psalm 104:24,25
This past June my son, Jeff, grandson Liam (age 12), and I went on a 5-day vacation together to Indian Rocks Beach in Clearwater, Florida. We were staying in an apartment right off the beach and so enjoyed the soft, white sand, warm water temperatures and amazing sunsets.
Each evening about a half hour before sunset we would bring our low beach chairs, place them at the water’s edge and let the waves lap over our legs as we watched the setting sun make a kaleidoscope of the sky. We all felt it was the perfect way to end our day, unwind and converse. Sometimes we’d stay past dark when the beach goers had gone, enjoying the flickering lights along the shore with just the lulling sound of the ocean while we spent time together.
On our last evening there, we went to view the sunset a little earlier than usual, wanting to savor this last evening for as long as possible. The boys set up the chairs and I took a short walk along the beach, picking up shells as I went. When I returned, I noticed they had set the chairs back a little further from shore than usual, knowing the tide would be coming in. Just as I was about to sit down, a great blue heron sauntered over and stood right in front of us. He stood only about four to five feet away, facing us.
This majestic bird was very large, incredibly beautiful and stood perfectly still, except that his eyes would shift focus as he looked each one of us over and then over again. We were dumbstruck, never having been that close to such a large, wild bird. We didn’t move either, not wanting to frighten him away. I whispered quietly to Jeff that he had a very long, very pointy beak. I was a little worried he might become territorial. He stayed for at least five minutes as we all took in the experience and then he sauntered away slowly. I did take a picture of him ( the one that appears above).
We were all awed by the experience. I asked each of us to describe how we felt. Liam said that he felt honored that this beautiful creature came to us and trusted us enough to spend that length of time with us. Liam also said he needed a name and called him Harry. Jeff said he felt a sort of communication with Harry as they made eye contact. It gave him a feeling of peace and felt that Harry communicated steadfastness. I, too, felt honored just “being with” Harry and a sense of awe at how majestic he was.
That week we had also seen dolphins leaping in the water beyond where we were swimming, a melon-headed whale as well, and pelicans diving from the sky for fish.
There was such a spectrum of creation surrounding us that week and we talked about it for days. We all agreed though, that Harry’s visit was the best gift of our stay. I still think about him and how we all shared a presence despite being of different species. Nature is so amazing and has so much to teach us.