Vol. 1, No.11

26 August 2003

THE DANCE, THE PICNIC AND THE ROCK

Kali Mera from the beautiful island of Crete.  Today, I am “playing” the glad game and telling my Father all the things I am glad for.  I had to send a phone message to Helmut to tell him thank you for loaning me his family.  Angelika (sister) and Miriam (niece) are here with me and we are having a ball getting acquainted.  Miriam’s husband is fascinated with American things so I am teaching her phrases and idioms and she is teaching me German sentences – one per day.  I have learned to say “This is a beautiful day,” “I had a wonderful time” and the best … “Swimming in the sea was fantastic!”  They are truly precious and a BIG “glad” for me.

So, I took the girls to my beach for a swim today – buckle your seatbelts!  The first thing I found was a lonely crab having a little picnic in the sand.  His (or was it her?) back parts were buried in the sand and in his “arms” he held the most exquisite shell – the kind I find on the Blue Beach.  Of course, I watched for the longest time, hoping he would finish and I could have the “remains” – no such luck.  This is an AMAZING creature.  On the end of his pincers, there are long spears which look like a white toothpick.  He was sticking these spears inside the tiny shell and forcing out the meat.  Then he would turn it over and over and over to make sure he didn’t drop a bite.  Every so often, he became aware of me and would grab this shell like a Dallas Cowboy with a football and scurry across the sand.  Then he would back into another little hole, bury his back legs and begin again.  Of course, he didn’t realize that I just swam along with him – ha!  All at once, I saw him bury his whole body in the sand – all I could see was the very tip of his picnic.  The reason?  A platoon of baby fish was swimming by!  What an interesting place is the bottom of the sea!

THEN, I swam right up to the turtle rock – never been so close before.  The most gorgeous fish I’ve ever seen was having a meal there.  He was colored like a parrot – turquoise, bright green, yellow.  Don’t even ask – you KNOW I didn’t have a camera – I’ll take it with me next time!  I watched this heavenly bit of my Father’s creation until the Imperial Guard arrived.  These are tiny scissor-tail fish – about 3 inches long.  They swim in big platoons of 30 or more – fearsome looking.  They are dark Army green and outlined in black.  Reminds me of the Orks in the Lord of the Rings in a way SO when the Imperial Guard arrives, I scoot!

On the way back to shore, I found another miracle.  Of course, I followed a few stars for a while and then I saw the REAL King Ugly!  This fish was horrid – dark green and black wavy lines all over his body and his eyes were outlined in black like Cleopatra.  I thought he had a “track” in the sea but soon realized it was another fish – sand colored.  THEN I became aware that I was watching a courtship.  This ugly fish actually STOOD UP on his back fins and danced!  Then he went around and … are you ready … SAT ON HER HEAD!  Oh, thank You Jesus that I am not this kind of creature!  Can you imagine King Ugly sitting on YOUR head!  ICK!

Suddenly, K.U. began to swim away quickly – so of course, I followed.  He was on the hunt – there were 3-4 other large sand-colored “queens” in his path and they did NOT find him the least bit attractive!  At one point, he flipped over, showing me the most beautiful shimmery silver belly!  I thought – this is like our enemy, isn’t it.  He has ugly parts and then can become an ‘angel of light’ if need be.  But these girls were NOT buying his act – they just kept swimming away.  And this is what WE should do – because we know that in spite of all the shiny, shimmery, silvery parts – he is at the core – KING UGLY!

And so, my friends, when tempted to horde your blessings from the Lord, remember this little crab – a picnic is no fun if you’re all by yourself.  SHARE THE BLESSINGS OF THE LORD TODAY!  And watch out for dancing King Uglies who would only sit on your head and pull you away from the hope that our Father brings!  God loves us each so very much – He has such a brilliant future for each of us.  And hey – the present ain’t so bad either!  So, get out there and rejoice and be GLAD!