The Inlet and the Beach

I was taking vacation day from work to have a “quiet day”. My spiritual growth class at church takes these days once a season to reflect. We have very specific rules to follow and are encouraged to leave home for the day and find a quiet place away from phones, chores, housework left undone. We are to go away if possible from the everyday world and be quiet.

We pray, we think, we listen, we don’t make a sound.

For my day I decided to go to Wrightsville Beach and be quiet. I took a beach chair, my Bible, my journal and settled in to be quiet. Once I got into my checklist and finished with my readings, I got quiet and almost nodded off.

To wake up, I took a walk down to the inlet at the north end and looked out at the ocean as I went. When I got to the inlet, I found a spot that had a deep drop off and squatted down at the edge of the water. I was amazed at what I found!

Looking into the water, I could see deep down the steep bank and I marveled at the life that existed. The current flowed out and minnows swam by, sometimes remaining stationary as they fought maintained their position against the current.

All sorts of creatures you usually cannot see in the surf were present. I parade of life flowing through the inlet. The water swirled about and I realized that God has truly made a wonderful world!

I left this place and began to walk back to my chair. Along the shore I walked over dead reeds, trash, shells and all sorts of junk. Everything was dead and the contrast to the inlet was revealing to me.

The sea throws up the dead on the shore. Life fights the waves to remain in the sea but the dead cannot.

It occurred to me that unlike this reflection, we as humans are saved not by our ability to fight the current but by our God. We cannot live on our own and that is why we are often afraid. Our God saves us when we release ourselves to him.

And that brings me to the following poem; The Inlet and the Beach.

The Inlet

The Inlet flows out,
Minnows school,
A Jelly fish swims by.
The water’s deep as
The current strengthens.
Fast moving vortexes
Twirl about.
Life, abundant life,
Moving to and fro.
Amazing life, in
Harmony with God’s plan.
With purpose, living,
Growing, dying, living.


The Beach

The high water mark
Reveals all that has died.
Cheap sunglasses, hinges rusting.
Broken reeds, broken shells,
A dried up crab…two!

The sea has rejected
That which it no longer needs.
What no longer lives,
The living sea throws out
What once was alive
And is now dead.
It will not relive as it is.

In Jesus,
We who were once dead
Are now alive.
Forever living by
His love, his grace.
The sea is living, the beach is dead.
No wonder we cling to the water’s edge!

Phil Brady