From the Rector…
I’m at the beach this week with several of my priest friends from seminary and their spouses. We take an annual retreat together every year to catch up and to nurture our spirits. We like going to the beach, and this elicited the question of why we are drawn to water. I don’t know if I can answer that, but I think it has to do with something deeply seeded in us that speaks to who we are and how we know God through God’s creation. We are born into this world through water and we are baptized into the church through water. Water was there at the very beginning of creation, of life. Water is the vehicle by which we are transformed. It is the chaos that elicits fear. It is the hope that nurtures life. Without water there is nothing, a void in which creation cannot exist.
We are drawn to water because in our beginnings and in the changes and chances of this world—water is life. It quenches our thirst. It makes us clean. To gaze out upon it is to begin to imagine the limitless possibilities that this world, that our lives, that God himself has gifted us. To look upon the water is to be inspired that there can be something different, that great adventure awaits us. I am drawn to the water at sunrise when the first rays of the dawn dance upon the waves and sparkle with imagination. I am drawn to the water at midday when the lull of wave upon wave touches the shore and invites me into her dreams. I am drawn to the water at darkness when the chaos of all that I cannot see reminds me of how small I am and how great God truly is—the hope and comfort in all of
my nightmares. I am drawn to the water with joy and with fear ever mindful of its mystery, it’s power and it’s purpose in my life. There is a sense of the unknown and unknowable when it comes to water. For some that can cause anxiety and fear, for others that can be an invitation into excitement and thrills. Mystery lives below its surface and danger lurks in its depths and at its edges.
There is also a sense of comfort and security. We count on the water—we expect the ocean will always be there. We rely on the rains to water the earth. We appreciate water for the slaking of our thirst. Water elicits our fears and inspires our hopes. I don’t really know what draws us to the water. My priest friend who asked that question simply replied, “Because it’s fun.” That’s probably the best reason of all.
Light and Life,
Candice+