Dolphins

Sometimes when I am feeling down and I am feeling like God doesn't really care about me or doesn't seem to be listening to my prayers, I remember the dolphins. Every year we visit the Jersey Shore because Rob's family has a beach house there. It is one of my favorite places on earth. Not only because of the sand and the surf, but because of all of the great family memories there. One of my favorite things I like to do at the beach is run in the morning. I love how the cool damp air fills my lungs. Unfortunately, I can't run on the beach because I find it to be too hard on my knees, so I run around the streets of the island and then walk back on the beach. This is my reward, my favorite time of day. I love walking along the beach with hardly a soul around. The orange glints of the newly risen sun dance on the waves. I love making the first footprints on the machined combed sand and then race down to the waters edge so that each salty wave can lick my ankles.

Several years ago I was finishing up my run and was heading toward a beach entrance. As I headed up the street I suddenly found myself praying, "God, thrill me today. I want to see some dolphins." Now I don't know what possessed me to pray such a thing. I was definitley not in the habit for praying for something so frivilous. I easily dismissed the idea stating that I should have prayed this prayer before leaving the house so I could have given God time to "set it up". But just then I heard His spirit say to me in my heart that He knows what my prayer is going to be before I do.

I took off my shoes and socks and began the climb up over the dunes and down to the beach and there they were! 3 of them! Playing and frolicking in the water. Now in my 10 years of going to the beach I had heard that dolphins are seen from time to time, but I had never seen them! I was so overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotion that I flung my arms outward and cried,"Praise you, Jesus!" .....It was then that I noticed the lone fisherman standing not 10 feet away from me. Any burst of emotion in front of a complete stranger is extremely uncomfortable for me, so I stood there horrified. His face showed no condemnation what so ever, he was just grinning from ear to ear. "Yea," he said,"They're pretty cool. They've been hanging out over there for the last 5 minutes just playing." What did he say? Were those dolphins waiting on me? I mumble something unitelligible to the man and begin my walk up the beach to home. And do you know what? Those dolphins followed me! All the way up the beach. They didn't go too fast and they didn't go too slow. Their grey bodies undulating in and out of the water and gliding with the greatest of ease. Beautiful!

When I got to my stop they gently continued on. I watched them until I could see them no more. And as they were swimming away I think about how God loves me. It was something I always knew but this gift, this incredible gift was always going to hold a special place in my heart. Jesus loves me, this I know, through his Son, through his Word, and yes even through the dolphins He told me so.