Debris

I stood at my spot on the Sound.
Clean water…only a hint of sea grass by the shoreline.
I could look down and see the fish below the surface.
I could look out and see the fish jumping in and out of the water.

A fisherman’s paradise to put food on his table.
Abundance of food for the seagulls and the other birds.

I looked out and saw something glistening in the sun.
Every bird seemed to see the same thing and flew towards it.
Every bird came up with nothing.

I couldn’t see what the object was as it caught the sun like a piece of sea glass.
There are no waves on the Sound, just gentle ripples in the water.
As I looked I saw the object bounce up and down.
It was an aluminum can.

It seemed so out of place here.
Dropped innocently from the shore, or lazily from a boat.
It teased the birds with its brilliance.

Shiny but empty.

Later in the day, down by the ocean I saw it.
A neon green ball that had been played with on the beach.
The waves were creeping closer and closer to beach towels and chairs.
One wave probably carried the ball out to sea.

I waited to hear a cry and a parent rushing to retrieve the ball, but it never came.
The ocean waves were rougher and higher than usual.
The neon green ball went further and further out to sea.

My son and I watched it for a while.
Still no cry.
Still no child trying to claim a lost possession.

It was too far out to retrieve.
Halfway between me and the horizon.
Or so it seemed.

Debris.
Left over from a time of play.
Washed out to sea.

The aluminum can didn’t belong in the waters of the Sound.
The neon green ball didn’t belong in the waters of the ocean.
They were terribly out of place.

I feel terribly out of place when I stand by the ocean.
The sheer vastness of the expanse before me, makes me feel incredibly small.

I can never think too much of myself when I stand in front of such beauty.
So many things unknown in the deep waters.
So many things yet to discover.

The sheer power of the ocean.
The regularity of the tides.
The brownish tint to the water as the sand shifts with each wave.

The sea life…seen and unseen.
The camouflaged crabs burrowing in and out of the sand.
The sand that moves beneath your feet as you try to stand still.

The perfect line of the horizon.
It is easy to see how early explorers thought you could fall off the earth.

Don’t go out too far, a mother calls to her child.
The timeless directive.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts. (Psalm 103:8-18)

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Our sin…Our debris.
Not much different from the aluminum can and the neon green ball.
Out of place in the world God created.
Not out of place here in this fallen world.

When we come to God in sincere repentance, He casts our debris into the sea.
His forgiveness is limitless.
When our debris is cast, it is gone!

Think of a globe.
Put your finger on one side of the globe.
Put your other finger on the opposite side.

Your fingers will never meet!

This is what happens when we confess our sin.
Repent.
Turn away from our sin.
Turn towards God.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

As far as the east is from the west.
The debris of our lives drifts away.

What a glorious promise!