“Meet Me At The Crossover”– A Monthly Feature
Opinion/Faith
By Jennifer St. Clair
The entertaining shoreline birds certainly guarantee a new slide show every single morning. as I step on to the crossover to peruse the panoramic layout before me, I’m greeted with ‘singing’. At other times, I hear laugh-like calls, very loud laugh-like calls! And if you happen not to be a morning person? Well, those laughing gulls just might annoy you a bit.
These charmingly dressed seagulls, all formal in tuxedo attire, prance around on the sand as if they own the beach. If you venture down for sunrise, you might even catch them splish splashing in the shallow water, bathing themselves before breakfast. Much like we do. They carry on conversations with each other, often in- your-face talks. You know, the kind where somebody invades your personal space boundary? It causes me to laugh out loud while watching them, yet not so much when this happens to me.
When God’s creatures do-what-they-do in their instinctual behavior patterns, we have an opportunity to glean insight into Divine wisdom right in front of our eyes. The key here is being ‘open’ to receive.
One of my early beach life encounters with these amusing birds occurred when I walked by a seagull with a single appendage. There this little guy stood for what seemed like minutes on end balancing himself just as perfectly as with two legs. Alarmed at the thought of ‘fowl’ play, my wild imagination ran rampant as to how this horrible injury occurred.
Another seagull could have attacked him while competing for a leftover human morsel. Who knows? Right? I mean, aren’t Cheetos appetizing to gulls too? And just because the rule book says, first come, first served? Well, we all know not everyone plays by the rules. Then there is survival of the fittest. And on and on
and on.
Then the strangest thing happened. Miraculously, a second leg appears!!! Poof! Off he flies out to sea. Just like that. A wide grin takes shape on my face. Guess you fooled me, huh? As I continued my morning walk, shaking my head at what I witnessed, a pondering thought floated on the script of my conscious-ness. How do I maintain my balance so as not to fall by the wayside in everyday living? Do I practice standing on one leg concentrating my focus on what is important in the big scheme of things?
We often allow distractions to cause us to teeter-totter in the balancing act of life, whether personal or external. I know for certain, morning talks with God set me in motion to gear up for the day ahead. Scripture solidifies my stability and strength and propels me forward to let the Christ’s Light shine brightly. As long as I do this, my life seems to flow more smoothly. However, it is an ongoing challenge to keep this balancing act intact by the grace of God!!! Amen!
“Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge…” (Psalm 91:3,4)NIV
Jennifer St. Clair is a pianist, award-winning songwriter, composer, artist, author and photographer. She relocated to Jacksonville Beach, Florida from the north Georgia mountains in 2014. Currently she serves as Pianist at Amelia Plantation Chapel. Her solo piano compositions can be found on sheetmusicplus.com. For more information:
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
Jennifer St. Clair
