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"WHEN I IN AWESOME WONDER…"
Michigan's Golden Coast
The Changing Shore
Erosion. Accretion. Erosion. Accretion.
Erosion. Accretion. The movement of the sand upon the shore, blown by
wind and carried by waves, is a constant reminder of the changeableness
of this life; of our need to rest upon a firm foundation.
Working day after day at the same site along the golden beaches, I am
amazed at the drastic changes that occur in a short period of time. When
walking down the beach the surface is dry inland and very difficult to
walk in. Along the water's edge, it is damp, hard packed earth. At times
this hard area is broad and flat. Other times, in the same spot, the waves
tickle your feet when you walk between the water and a small cliff up
to three feet high. The cliff has become the boundary between the soft
dry sand and the water's edge. In a single day, thousands of cubic yards
of sand can be moved in just a hundred feet of beach.
Over the years, tremendous changes can occur. Once forested dunes can
be washed into the lake. Or, new dunes can form up to several hundred
feet tall. In fact, the largest are nearly five hundred feet tall, like
the Sleeping Bear dunes west of Traverse City.
One of the most fascinating examples of these changes is the movement
of a streamed as the water flows into the lake from inland. It can build
a channel parallel the shore for hundreds of feet. Then the dike between
the stream and the shore can break and combined with the wave action cause
the stream to flow completely the opposite direction.
When a group of fathers and sons from our church hiked along the shore,
we al enjoyed looking for fish and driftwood along this stream. The next
day, the stream flowed into the lake nearly 300 feet north of where it
had the day before.
Only a few people have the opportunity to build upon the shore. Some do
not like to admit it, but building upon the dunes can be a very risky
and expensive proposition. In a ten-year period during the sixties and
seventies the width of the shore went from the widest in recent memory
to completely disappear, with waves lapping at base of the dunes. Some
places the lake moved inland over three hundred feet. The houses and goods
of the owners fell into the lake. We find pieces of the houses buried
in the sand when the eroding winds reveal them.
There are only two ways to be completely sure that a house will stay in
place. Either one must build way back from the edge of the dune in an
area not susceptible to erosion, or, one must put pilings down to the
bedrock clay to support the house.
By this time you see the application very clearly. Jesus is the Rock upon
which we must build our house, our spiritual house. Our lives are filled
with constant change: birth, death, friends, mistakes, accidents, sin,
pain, suffering, riches, poverty…. We have nothing stable in our lives
apart from Christ. We may not build our house upon the sand, like the
foolish man. Instead, we must build upon the Rock, which is our Lord Jesus
Christ. He alone is our sure foundation. We know Him through His word,
written and preached. Through His word and by His gift of faith we are
tied to the Rock. Thus we are made wise. And when the final great storm
of life buffets us, that is, when we face death we will be unmoved. We
will stand sure. Praise to God! We will stand Rock solid with the waves
swirling around us. We will be saved. God gives us that faith, we pray.
In Thee
When the winds of pain buffet me,
When sickness lays me low,
In bed when Thy mercy I cannot see,
And it seems that friends all did go,
Be Thou my protection.
When the storms of life are raging,
When friends and loved ones forsake,
In loneliness and sorrow,
When it seems there is no tomorrow,
Be Thou my strength.
When temptation seeks to corrupt,
When daily cares my meditations interrupt,
In times when no light in the tunnel I see,
If waves and waves wash over me,
Be Thou my foundation.
When death stands at the door,
When on life's sea I'll be no more,
When I my last breath do take,
So I on earth no more awake,
Be Thou my hope.
In Thee I find my strength and song.
In Thee my comfort all the day long.
In trial Thou art my protection.
In Thee is my hope and my foundation.
Thou art my God.
In Thee will I find my joy in that great day,
When in brightness all my sins are washed away.
By Deane Wassink 3-4-2001
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