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"WHEN I IN AWESOME WONDER…"
Michigan's Golden Coast
Peril and Hope
The storms of the Great Lakes are legendary.
It is not that they cause greater waves and winds than the great oceans
of the world. Instead, the direction and strength of the wind coupled
with the shape of the big lakes themselves can cause very rapid and violent
changes in the behavior of the lakes. One hour they can be relatively
flat and safe. The next hour, before boats can get to the safety of the
harbor, the lakes can become wild and dangerous with pounding surf and
gale force winds.
Lake Michigan, the focus of our discussions, is long and narrow. It is
three hundred miles long from north to south. Its width is one hundred
eighteen miles at its widest point, from east to west. The surface area
is twenty two thousand three hundred square miles, equal to the combined
areas of Maryland, Massachusetts and Delaware. The greatest depth is nine
hundred twenty three feet deep. It is the third largest of the Great Lakes
in surface area. I'm sure you can appreciate that this is a very large
body of water.
When the wind blows from the north or northwest, as it often does in this
part of the country, it can cause incredible wave action. The winds can
literally stack water on the south end of the lake. This is called a storm
surge. On top of the surge huge waves pound the shore.
There are several times that I have been on the shore during these storms.
When the waves hit obstructions in the water, like breakwaters around
harbors, they burst into foaming monsters, thirty to forty feet into the
air. As a result of these storms there have been very many shipwrecks
over the last two centuries. Scuba diving clubs have plenty of wrecks
to study. Even today, with modern technology, small boats can get into
serious trouble, and even founder. Every year there are lives lost by
being swept off piers and breakwaters.
This danger is the reason why the United States Coast Guard has built
dozens of lighthouses on the shores, islands and harbors of Lake Michigan.
They surround the lake from top to bottom. These beacons of hope indicate
by their rotating lights and low sounding foghorns that there is safety
from the storms at sea.
The sailors could tell by the color and shape of the lighthouse as well
as the timing sequence of the light exactly which light and therefore
which port they were near. Also, because the lighthouses are built on
a high elevation and have very powerful lenses, many of them could be
seen by the sailors twelve to fifteen miles out from the shore. The lights
originally burned oil. The light was amplified through beautiful lenses
called "fresnel" lenses. One of the jobs of the keeper was to
polish the lens on a regular basis. I have had the opportunity to see
and admire two of these lenses. Now the lighthouses are automated with
electricity.
We can only imagine the hope and encouragement of the confused and storm
tossed boatmen when they saw the beacons of hope shining during the storm.
I had the rare privilege of touring the Dutch style lighthouse on the
breakwater of the harbor in Holland, Michigan. Since it was painted red
in the middle of the last century it has been named affectionately "Big
Red" by the locals. I was able to feel the heavy steel plates that
were hand riveted together nearly a hundred years ago. It's surface was
rough from the many coats of paint it has received through the years to
protect it from the weather. I climbed steep flights of steps to the top
of the tower where the fresnel lens had brilliantly reflected the oil
flame. I stood in the rooms where the keeper had lived and kept vigil
during the storms. Much of the old furniture was still there, never removed
after the light was electrified. The ceilings still had the beautiful
tin patterns in place. I paused to contemplate how difficult and often
melancholy job-no, calling-this must have been. Though this was not as
remote of an outpost as some, it was still a lonesome and difficult task.
No wonder the figure of the lighthouse and the storm are often used to
picture the spiritual danger and hope of mankind. Christ, the Light of
Life, gives us hope when the storms of life are raging. He gives us guidance
when we are lost on the waves of trials and troubles that threaten to
overwhelm us. And yet, so much more than the earthly example, He actually
saves and delivers us. He not only points the way to safety, He sovereignly
and efficaciously draws us out of the power of darkness and brings us
into the harbor of salvation. He moors us unbreakably with ropes of love
to the quay of life. There we find hope. There we find rest and peace.
There we find safety in time and eternity. Look to The Lighthouse, The
Lord Jesus Christ!
Light of Hope
When on life's seas we venture,
At first our ship seems strong.
The sails with wind are measured.
Hoping to arrive in port ere long.
Soon the storms of life beset us,
Dashing all our hopes and dreams.
The winds blow in tremendous gusts.
Our boat soon breaks at the seams.
But, the lighthouse stands a sentinel strong,
Though battered by wind and wave.
It stands as a beacon to those that long,
For refuge from the storms that rage.
Ships that sail in peril of storm,
See her light through the foaming seas,
Threatening to send them battered and torn,
Against the shoals where the pounding wave leaps.
Her fresnel lens, hand wrought with care,
Brightens and reflects the lamp within.
It pierces the darkness of night that is there.
A light of direction and hope again.
The keeper dwells nearly alone there,
Making the tending of the lamp his care.
With gentle touch the lens he makes clean,
That neither spot nor grime weaken the beam.
In her port the ships do lie,
Anchored row by row they sleep.
Closely bound, rail to rail they're tied.
Moored, they rest against the quay.
May the keepers continue to fuel the flame.
So the light in the darkness may burn so bright.
Loved by those led home again,
For whom the light dispelled the night.
May she stand firm in the years to come.
Her beacon, so bright, guiding the way.
A ray of hope to the wandering ones,
Who desperately for deliverance pray.
Deane Wassink
2/15/2002
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