29 October: Sea

Only a duo of days to complete this month of Kate Motaung's October 2015 edition of 31 days of free unedited writes, this is day 29.

Thursday 29 October: Sea


The Spirit of God brooded over the face of the deep, and birthed planet earth from the depths of the sea.

Let the sea roar, earth rejoice, heavens sing!

Most days I've written a little about one or two aspects of the single word prompt, but how can I put limits on the boundless sea? Water is life! No water—no sacraments. As much as I love the desert, my heart lives close to the ocean, the beach, the shore. I first saw light of day by the bay.

Scripture is full of sea-related and other water-saturated accounts. Songs about the sea include baptismal, homecoming, wayfaring, and nautical imagery. Quite a few of my analog drawings and paintings feature an ocean, river, or sea. "They're all the same," as streams and tributaries flow into the rivers that make their way into oceans and seas.

Gerry Rafferty sings about finding "a ship to take us on the way." For centuries they've built church naves in the shape of a (upside down) ship; the word nave is the same as "navy." The church becomes our ship as we navigate the sea(s) of life in the Spirit.

"The Ark", from Gerry Rafferty's City to City

See the dark night has come down on us
The world is livin' in its dream
But now we know that we can wake up from this sleep
And set out on the journey
Find a ship to take us on the way.

The time has come to trust that guiding light
And leavin' all the rest behind
We'll take the road that leads down to the waterside
And set out on the journey
Find a ship to take us on the way.

And we'll sail out on the water
Yes we'll feel the sea grow
Yes we'll meet out on the water
Where are all strangers are known.

If you travel blindly, if you fall
The truth is there to set you free
And when your heart can see just one thing in this life
We'll set out on the journey
Find a ship to take us on the way.