Amazed When Surrounded by Water
There are numerous places on earth where a human can be amazed. That’s amazed as in astonished, surprised with delight and filled with joy and wonder. One of those places is when you are surrounded by water. Use your geography memory, that’s an island.
Ponder an island with me. If you prefer the word study over ponder…study an island with me. Leave the work to me. You have two jobs. Read about this island, and while you read consider the splendor and majesty of this land surrounded by salt water. My goal is for both of us to discover God’s power and love. You wonder, can the actual presence of God be seen in an island? Can splendor and majesty be seen in an island? Take my word…Yes.
Where is this island you wonder? St. George Island is found on the panhandle of Florida, about 75 miles south and west of Florida’s capitol city of Tallahassee. It is a barrier island generally 4 miles off the mainland of Florida. Why call it St. George? Like the rest of the southeast coast of the United States, this island has a long history. An early Spanish explorer, Panfilo de Narvaez was one of the first Europeans to sail past and even land on the island. This makes St. George a name with Spanish origins.
But you began reading these words to be amazed not learn history. St George is a 28-mile-long sand barrier island. A barrier island blocks the sea from the mainland. If becomes a barrier island when wind and waves push up ocean sand to form land. Wind and waves are powerful…at times, powerful beyond description. Hurricane winds can rearrange plants and island sands in a matter of hours. Nevertheless, a barrier island protects the mainland from the brunt of ocean storms. If you have a chance to watch the breaking of ocean waves on the shore you know about the amazing power of wind and water.
An island is a place to watch the ocean. St. George is such a place. The ocean is never still, and never the same…yet at the same moment, an ocean seems timeless. Sunlight and clouds change the look of the sea making it different throughout each day. Watching the waves of an ocean roll to shore brings the human mind to a place of reflection. One conclusion we come to is an undeniable fact-an island view of an ocean is one of everchanging beauty. Watching the ocean, standing in or swimming in the ocean gives one a distinct understanding of raw power. One wave can knock us down, a rip tide can carry us out to sea. There is great beauty in the power of the ocean. See the power as the sun rises or sets from an ocean island, you’ll want to see it again.
An island ocean is a sanctuary for wildlife. The living things that make St. George Island home multiply the amazement found there. Subtropical weather, abundant water combined with a rich food source allow an estimated 525 species of birds to make St. George home for the year or seasonally in migration. My favorite island bird might be the pesky laughing gulls, but secretive cardinals and the mocking bird with its large repertoire of calls might be called favorites as well. St. George is a place where bird life is always present. But birds are not the only amazing wildlife found on this barrier island.
St. George is widely known for the sea turtles that use the beach sands of the island to make a nest for their eggs. The primary turtle species which nests on the beaches of St. George is the Loggerhead. Occasionally, the Green and Leatherback come ashore lay their eggs. St. George is a highly desirable location for sea turtle nesting. A part of the mysterious life cycle of sea turtles becomes visible to humans here. Newly hatched loggerhead turtles measure about 2 inches long. Give this little creature 60 or more years of life and it will grow to a giant 275-pound sea creature of incredible beauty.
If you’ve read this far…pause. Reflect on what you’ve read. St. George is a 28-mile-long blockade of sand protecting Florida’s mainland panhandle. Large numbers of birds migrate past the island. Some stop only long enough to feed, rest and then fly on…spring and fall. Other species live there year around. It is a place to see magnificent sunrises and sunsets. The sound of the surf never ceases. The constant reminder of life in the ocean shows up on the beaches in the form of shells. Their colors and patterns please the eye and prompt the soul to think about life. See the tracks of a large female loggerhead in the sand and the mystery of St. George Island is intensified. Try to watch the waves of the Gulf of Mexico breaking on the horizon. It will still your heart.
St. George Island is a place of great delight filled nature works-none of them made by human hands. My counsel to both of us…study them. We’ll be amazed, we’ll see splendor and majesty. Guess what? Truth is found in amazement.