Imagine for a moment a young child sculpting a sandcastle on a beautiful sunny and warm day at the beach. The rising tide creeps toward her as she concentrates on her art form through the afternoon and its lengthening shadows. You might say that this impending meeting of the waves and the shore is the mother of all catastrophes—the tsunami hazard zone, or maybe the End of Days for those imaginary inhabitants of her sand fortress.
On the stormiest of days, the waves crash into the shore in a manner that is anything but graceful. In much the same way, the coalescing of different faiths is not an easy task to assume. At the best of times this is a terrific challenge. But on Saturday, March 5th, Youth in Action made a valiant effort to start making connections with people of other faiths. I am so proud of them for taking that momentous first step toward this challenge and for wanting to do it in the first place. They planned a wonderful day at the park and we had a great time. Their games were enjoyed immensely by the youngest members of our church. And don’t you agree that food just tastes better when it is eaten outside with friends? Granted, our turnout wasn’t quite what we expected, but we had an enormously fun time flying kites, getting them stuck in the trees, and throwing our cares to the wind (literally). Congratulations to Madeline, Mary, Kunhee, Christina, Andrea, Cristian, and Tony for planning such a terrific day and for injecting their energy and vibrant spirits to our church family. And a big thank you to all their parents who provide us with their unending support.
Regardless of high or low tide, where the waves end and kiss the sand they often leave behind little gems from the sea—mussel shells, sand dollars, strings of deep yellow, glossy, bulbous kelp. And sometimes this momentary meeting leaves behind little rivulets of slow-moving sand and seawater, carving channels back to their Creator. Sometimes these rivulets are blasted away with bigger waves carrying rock and shell debris, leaving behind something more reminiscent of miniature Grand Canyons, full of wonder and breathless beauty and inspiration.
