When the weather permits, we like to take long, leisurely walks along the beach. We don't always choose the same strip, but just let our "whims" take us wherever we want to go. Three of our favorite strips in Newport are Beverly Beach, to the north; Agate Beach, about a mile and a half north; and Nye Beach, approximately a mile to the south.
Most of the time our walks are just on wet sand when the tide is out and we can walk for a mile and a half and see very few people. But, for some reason, this year we have found some treasures in the layout of the beach and sand that Mother Nature has stirred up with sand, wind and crashing waves. No two days are the same.
A couple of months ago, we were walking along the back side of Beverly Beach, close to the cliffs and found some interesting "carvings" in the cliff and in the sand. It looked as though someone eons ago had "built some great wall" and then abandoned it. There were also some perfectly round holes in the cliff face, approximately a foot plus in diameter. What on earth carved these holes?
At the beginning of last fall, we went to walk on Agate Beach and found great mounds and "canyons" carved in the sand. I swear, I felt like we were walking in the great Arabian Deserts I read about as a child in Arabian Nights! It was spooky at times. There were little mounds of sand, created by the waves that looked like the hardened sandstone I have seen in Zion National Park, carved there over the centuries by water!
A second visit, a few weeks later with JerriAnne and her friend Jossie, we visited Agate Beach again and it was nearly flat again. There were a few mounds and left-over sand jetty's, but it was eerily different. We had a lovely day walking and exploring.
Yesterday, Dean and I walked Nye Beach and found huge "rock" formations that we had not noticed before! A visitor on top of one of the rocks said that "17 years ago he proposed to her on this rock and at that time there was an arch that connected it to the cliff to the east." The arch is no loger there!
As I contemplate this collection of changes made by the mighty sea, I am in awe of its power. A churning, ever moving wave crashing against the sand of the seashore does these crazy things and we are the ones who are privileged to view the beauty of Mother Nature. And I ponder...if the great ocean is poweeful enough to create such beauty and change each and every day, think of the power of God as he shapes our very souls with crashing waves of adversity, the winds of change, the sunshine of His love.
Learning to appreciate all of these things, I am in awe and feel such a growing love and confidence in the love of my Heavenly Father. He gave us these things to teach us about His love for us; to teach us about His power and Glory.
Today, I have even a greater connection to the seashore. It has been my greatest joy to live here!
