My lighthouse..

Monday my parents needed me to drive them and their guest, that is visiting from Canada, to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Their visitor really wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean and it was too long a drive for my mother (my father does not drive, he is blind), so I was their designated driver. I was glad to do it and my husband was able to come along so it made a very nice day trip. My husband, children and I have been vacationing on Hilton Head for the last 20+ years so I suggested to Daddy that we go down to the beach and then go to Harbor Town (which is an exclusive part of the island) and visit the lighthouse and see the harbor and yachts. He was game for the idea so off we went.

After we finished on the beach we proceeded as planned and went to the lighthouse. Dad stayed downstairs..no reason for a blind man to climb ninety feet to the top, he couldn't see anything anyway...Mama and my husband almost jogged to the top, camcorder in tow...Mr. Loren and I decided to read all the plaques on each floor on the way up. I figure if someone is going to come all the way from Alberta, Canada, he may as well get educated as to what the history is (that's the homeschool mom in me)! There was plenty of information and history about lighthouses since most of this part of the coast was important for bring goods in and then transporting them down the Savannah River.

What I found most interesting was the concept of the lighthouses. Their use was to aid in the sailors navigation of the waters and dangers closer to shore; dangers which included islands, reefs and points of land. In the daylight the lightghouses can be seen; at night its light is visible. In earlier times there were fires sent upon the highest points along the coast so the boats and ships could determine the coast line from the burning fires. Then, when they built lighthouses they found that the higher they built them the farther the light could be seen. The lighthouse keepers had to carry fuel all the way to the top to light the fire in the lighthouse and then had to keep the fire going all night, every night without fail. The lighthouses were refered to as "sentinel of the rocks" and "beacons of light". Not only were they useful in calm, moonlight, starry nights to be a guide but more often they were "saviours" to navigating the nightmare of treacherous, rocky coast lines. The beams of light, when spotted, were greeted by many sailors with elation.

As I stood high in the air looking out over the ocean I could not help but think of another "beacon of light", another "sentinel of the rocks". My blessed Lord is my "beacon of light", my "sentinel of the rocks". He (my lighthouse) is out there in the calm waters of life..sturdy and tall... and my lighthouse is also out there in the stormy seas of this world letting His light shine so bright so that it can been seen easily. He is beckoning to us, giving light to the darkness, and if we follow His light, it will manuver us safetly through rough waters. My "becon of light" is there on clear, calm days and also on the moonlit, starry nights, tall and sturdy, navigating me safetly through life. On those calm waters and clear nights, knowing the light is there, knowing the light is steadfast, knowing that all I need to do is look up, stills my heart, soul and mind and gives to me security and comfort. During the rocky voyages of life, I am comforted, just like the sailors must have been, because I can rest in assurance the my "sentinel of the rocks" is standing tall, strong and His light is burning bright. I know that my "sentinel of the rocks" will guide my life safetly into the habor and out of the menacing, sometimes treacherous waters of life. Another thing....the 'beacon of light" the "sentinel of the rocks" is not just my own personal lighthouse. His sructure is so tall, so sturdy, so magnicient that it can be seen from any waters, anywhere. His light burns so bright that there is no stormy waters, no treacherous obstacles that His light cannot illuminate and guide us through. This most special lighthouse is for us all, His purpose to reassure us in calm waters but also to give light to and guidance through all the darkness and rough waters we encounter. All we need to do is fix our eyes on our "beacon of light".....He is there shining brightly and piercing the darkness!