We make our way to the harbor
and set our dreams free
one by one.
Like tiny ships that are not afraid
of the rising wind and waves
we sail onward, our dreams in tow.
The sea is full of mischief
a naughty cat,
who does not tire.
The misty, morning light
beckons us to come and play,
our tiny ships parading forward.
The eyes of the cat glitter;
the sea is a jewel of many colors, yet,
it is a jewel we cannot hold.
Late in the evening, the harbor lights flicker
and the moon rises up,
such great company, in the deep, dark night.
We keep watch on deck;
the naughty cat has at last, gone to sleep;
the silent sea rests in the moonlight.
By God’s grace,
we venture out again and again, into deep waters,
a heavenly light marks our passage; ahead, a safe harbor awaits.
The July days are slipping by, the way summertime days seem to do. At one of our local stores, I saw the first of autumnal displays…pumpkin-scented candles. Not yet, I thought to myself, it is only the middle of July! But already, the shopping carts are full of school supplies…school will start again in no time!
The best of summer has always been the slower pace. If we slow things down a bit, we seem to look at the world and ourselves differently. New ideas come to us. We open our hearts and minds to unforeseen possibilities.
It is easy to let things stagnate a little, to keep doing things the same old way. Some of our habits work very well for us, and nothing needs to change. Oftentimes though, a breath of fresh air is a very good thing.
As I wrote this poem, “Harbor Lights”, I pictured a harbor all lit up at night. It is always a pretty sight when darkness falls and the harbor lights appear.
Life is much like the sea. It cannot be tamed. It cannot be understood by our own logic alone. We need God in order to understand the sea at all…the currents, the dangerous rip tides, the shoals, and the shallow places. We need God’s guidance in all things concerning this navigation of the sea…
Life is not easy for anyone, and there are no easy answers. We must trust God and His promises at all times. It is God who created the universe and our very selves. Who better than Him to lead our little fleet of ships? Who better to trust than the One who has a vision and a purpose for our lives?
The sea is endlessly beautiful, and so is life itself. It is a wondrous thing to look upon the sea when it is lit by sunlight or moonlight. That is nothing compared to God’s light. God’s light is endlessly shining down within and upon us. His light and love are working on our behalf even when we cannot see it.
We can trust God as we go down to the harbor, each and every day. Isaiah 43: 15-16: (New International Reader’s Version), “I am your Lord and King. I am your Holy One. I created you. Long ago, the Lord opened a way for His people to go through the Red Sea. He made a path through the mighty waters.” Also, in Roman’s 8:28: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”
To be sure, there will be storms. There will be rain. There will be heartaches and hardships. But through it all, God is leading the way for us…A new day dawns and there might be something new we need to learn, a change God is calling us to make in our lives. We must be open to the call as we celebrate the harbor lights, infused with great love, little miracles rising into our awareness.
It is still yet summer, still the season of a slightly slower pace… It is always a good season to reflect on our hopes and dreams, the little wishes we make within our hearts. These can be simple things, or not so simple things. It is important not to get sidetracked if something is very important to you. It matters when you say “yes”, to a dream and if you act upon it. And perhaps, it is a good time for prayer and reflection on the dreams that God has fashioned for us as well…only by leaning on Him, can we live out the vision that He has for our lives. 1 Corinthians 2:9: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
That naughty cat. . .
🙂 🙂 🙂
We lived near the ocean for over 15 years–close enough to walk to the beach. I loved moonlit nights when a silver pathway stretched across the water from sand to horizon. And if I timed an early morning walk just right, I’d be there to see the pathway turned to gold. Your lovely poem and devotional brought these images back to me, Linda. “It IS a wondrous thing to look upon the sea when it is lit by sunlight or moonlight,” reminding us of our God of Light.
Yes! The sea is beautiful by day or night…it does remind us of God and His everlasting light. I love your description of the silver pathway turning to gold at dawn. You do have a wonderful way with words! 🙂
Aw . . . thank you, Linda!
🙂 🙂 🙂
such a deep message Linda, love your poem and pics … that first one is truely awesome! Really enjoy how your layers have deeper unfolding meanings 🙂
Thank you! The first picture is from St. Croix. I love that blue-green water!!! That beach in particular was quite rocky…still beautiful! (I have a pair of water shoes for rocky beaches.) 🙂 The rocks do not keep me out of the water!
Yes it was that colour combination that makes it so amazing, kudos
lol good for you, our beaches tend to be sandy, frankly I’ve only seen one [pebble beach] rocky one and they are quite big rocks!
I do prefer a sandy beach to a rocky one. Still, each beach has its own beauty…even a rocky shoreline has its charm. 🙂
I love your poem, as well as your photos of the sea. You’re right about the summer days rapidly slipping away.
Thank you! It is hard to believe that it is almost August!:)
You’re welcome, Linda! I wish summer would please slow down. It’s so short up here. Well, carpe diem is the only option!
In Vermont, you do have the most beautiful autumn…that is something to look forward to! It is still only July, and August is surely a month of summertime fun. I hope you have some sweet summer moments before those lovely Vermont trees turn to gold…and crimson, and tangerine! (I have been to Vermont in the fall, and I know just how amazing it really is.) Your summer may be short, but Autumn makes up for it!!!
Then again, August and September really could be considered their own season in between summer and autumn.
Yes! I love the month of September…still warm, still summerlike in its own way. The nights are cooler and that is refreshing. Sometimes, in September, when the sky is so very blue, and the sun shines so brightly, it is hard to believe that winter is on its way.
Beautiful poem and post, Linda.
Thank you! I hope your summer is going well! 🙂
I just love your poems, Linda! And I especially liked the ending to this one. The “naughty cat” can shake us up, but we always return to our safe harbor, I believe!
Yes! No matter what happens, God is our safe harbor, our refuge and our stronghold. God never changes. The world may change, but God does not. We are the sheep of His fold, and He watches over His sheep at all times. We do not understand everything, and we are not supposed to. As scripture tells us, ‘We walk by faith and not by sight.’
92 Corinthians 5:7)
Truth in each line.
I especially love it when you write about the sea. The way the sea lives describes everything in our life. The ebb and flow, the swells and crashes.
And then, the naughty cat finds rest for some hours.
Exactly life as it is.
You are right…there are so many things about the sea that mirror life itself. The sea has always called to me. Perhaps, it the mysterious nature of the ocean; you do not always know what to expect. I have been out in some very bad storms! My father was an able captain of his boat, but storms can happen anytime. We were out in one very bad storm on the Chesapeake Bay, bringing my father’s boat down from New York to Virginia. There was a deadly storm on land, and on the water. We had our life jackets on and were prepared to go over at any time. (I was singing hymms and praying. My oldest son was three at the time and fell asleep in my lap.) Thank God he slept through that. Anyway, you must respect the ocean, and not take anything for granted. (And yes, as you said, life is like that too.) We did make it to shore in that bad storm; our boat was full of water…My husband said that He felt God’s hand on the wheel. He and my father took turns steering that day.
The Lord truly brought you and your loved ones through that storm!! You must have gone over that memory many, many times since, each time discovering tiny new angles to that experience. What astounds me is your little one fast asleep through it all! He was truly anchored in faith and hope.
I do believe that God brought us through that storm. My son would have been terrified if he were awake. It is one of those things that you do play over in your mind…how suddenly and out of nowhere that this storm hit us. We were off of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland. It had been such a beautiful and sunny day. Then, across the water, we could see this black cloud moving toward us rapidly. The waves were at least ten feet…just like that, in minutes. The power was off on land, when we made it in. As that cloud rolled toward us, I put my little one in my lap, and I rocked him to sleep. I will never know how he slept through it, but I never stopped singing and I never stopped praying. It was a miracle and that is all.
Lovely post, Linda. I’ve seen a LOT of autumn decor out in the stores already and swear it’s earlier than normal this year? In the UK it hasn’t felt very summery this July though!
I love the UK! It is one of my favorite places. I only lived in Cambridge for one semester in college, but I loved it! When I was there, we had a beautiful autumn, and the roses bloomed through November. We are having a hot summer here…quite humid! When I visit your blog, I get a glimpse of your corner of the world…a wonderful place indeed! I hope you get some summery days yet!!! 🙂
The harbor is one thing in life I have not really experienced much. So much is written about the harbor…I’m missing out I think. Some day…
Your poem is great and inviting.
Thank you Gary…I am glad that you liked the poem! The experience of the sea and the wilderness of the woods are not so very different. They both have great unknowns. My experience of the wilderness is very limited! When I was seventeen, I spent a weekend in the Shenandoah Mountains. We hiked and camped out in the ‘wilderness’ of a National park…not like your camping trips!!! The deer were not afraid of me, and I liked that. We kept our food way up high, away from the bears. I did not see a bear…thank God! It was so very beautiful…the icy streams, and waterfalls. The quietude is much like the sea…I learned a lot that weekend in those mountains. I was leaving home for college…I think I needed that solitude to be ready for another great ‘unknown’. (Harbors are wonderful, but you must venture out into the sea…as you must do in life.)
I have spent time in the rocky mountains camping up at the treeline. I always come away feeling very small and knowing the only chance at any significance would be connecting with the author of these vast places. I’m quite sure the seas do the same…
I can only imagine how beautiful it must be to go camping in the Rocky Mountains! Yes, the fingerprints of God are upon the sea and across the mountains. The wonder of it all is how our God longs to connect with each one of us…in these places and everywhere!
A timely post to read as we’ve just returned from our annual family trip to the shore. Thus your words, “We need God in order to understand the sea at all…the currents, the dangerous rip tides, the shoals, and the shallow places. We need God’s guidance in all things concerning this navigation of the sea…” spoke loudest. I love how your writing always invites us your readers to sit and contemplate for a bit.
It is a wonderful thing when we look back upon a trip. The memories linger with us and bring us so much joy. We carry these ‘snapshots’ in our hearts forever. Whenever we want, we can pause and reflect on these magical moments. I am glad you had a wonderful trip to the shore with your family! 🙂
Linda, what a lovely meditation, poem, and photos you posted on my birthday! Love the comparison of the sea with a naughty cat (like my Perry haha).
Thank you! Happy Birthday! Wishing you birthday blessings to last the whole year through. 🙂 I wonder if you are doing much this summer with your art journals…I love to see your work! (I know you have a lot to keep you busy!!!)
Thank you, Linda! I will try to carry those throughout the year! I have been doing about 5-10 minutes of nothing with the art journaling lately because I haven’t had the energy, but I try to at least slop some paint on paper or something everyday.
Your ‘slops of paint’ can be quite lovely! I hope you feel better! 🙂
Aw thank you!
🙂 🙂 🙂
A beautiful reflection on the sea (and cats ;). I enjoyed the cat metaphor.
Beautiful photos, too. The whole post has such a serene feeling to it.
Thank you! I enjoyed writing the poem…I am glad if the post gave you a feeling of serenity…that is something we surely all need more of!
You’re very welcome, Linda. So true!
Beautiful post Linda.
Thank you! 🙂 🙂 🙂
My mother-in-law was a terrific artist. One of my favorite paintings on her wall was a night scene in a harbor with the quaint village lights reflecting off the water’s surface. One thing I loved about it was that it was from the point of view from a boat looking back at the shoreline. Your post brought that great memory back to me. Thank you. ,-Alan
That painting sounds lovely! It is mesmerizing to watch such a scene…I am glad you recalled such a happy remembrance! 🙂
Great post, Linda! I especially love the comparison between the sea and a naughty cat! 😺 Summer is slipping away faster this year. We are still awaiting seasonal monsoons, which started in June last year. Hoping your summer is a dream fulfilled! ☀️
The summer has gone very fast! I hope your monsoon season will not be too bad. For a bit, we had a lot of rain!!! I hope August is a good month for you! 🙂 🙂 🙂
What a lovely poem, Linda. You paint a picture of a perfect summer day, and create a serene metaphor for our daily lives. Beautiful photos! Happy August.
Thank you! Happy August! We have had a bit of rain today, and we certainly need it. I hope you enjoy these summertime days of August…:) 🙂 🙂
Such a lovely poem, Linda. Very calming and wise. I love that the words heaven and haven are related. 🙂
Thank you! Come August, the summertime days seem to slip by in a hurry. Although, summer is my favorite season, I do look forward to September. September is such a beautiful month! We do think of heaven as a safe haven…God has promised that heaven will be the most beautiful of places, a place of refuge and peace.
Lovely photos and lovely poem, Linda. I love the line “the sea is full of mischief”. That’s so true!
Thank you! Yes! The sea is full of mischief! 🙂
The more I rea about the harbor, the sea and the shores, the more I want experience it myself. I have had very short snippets in time but not enough to feel what you feel in the poem…it’s tugging at me while I read from the woods….some day Linda!!
Yes! A trip to the sea is well worth it. But, the woods are also lovely…full of mystery, like the sea itself. It is the mystery and wonder of God’s awesome creation that is so inspiring. 🙂