Take time to ponder

Once when we arrived I immediately noticed that on the calm, flat surface of the sea was one large rough patch. It was very interesting and I rushed to the edge of the promenade to see what it was. I stared at it for a long time but couldn’t make out what it was. It was slowly moving towards the Waterfront. Eventually, I noticed that it was a large pod of dolphins.

I thought how sometimes when we study the scriptures we need to ponder them a long time in order to see the treasures in them and really understand them. Jesus said: "...ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand..." (3 Nephi 17: 3). When Nephi pondered his father's vision, he also saw a vision (1 Nephi 11: 1).

Sunset and the Son of God

One Saturday evening I walked along the promenade on my own. When I walked away from the setting sun, everything looked grey and all the world was growing dark. It wasn’t a very attractive sight. When I walked towards the sun, there was light. There were lovely colours and everything looked beautiful. It was quite an amazing contrast. I was so interested in it that I kept turning my head in both directions to compare the views.

As we look away from the Son of God, or turn our back on Him and walk away from Him, our world will seem grey and spiritually dark. It will be grey in that we will find it hard to know what is right or wrong, what is good or bad, what is true or false. There will be no clearcut boundaries and distinctions. But as we look towards the Son of God and walk towards Him by following Him, there is light in our lives and our minds because “He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened” (Mosiah 16:9). We will be able to see clearly. He will enlighten our minds. Our world will be full of colour, meaning it will be joyful and we will experience happiness. There will be beauty. Without the Son in our lives we experience misery, but with Him lighting our lives, we will have confidence and hope.

The foghorn and the still small voice

I often park next to the lighthouse in Mouille Point because there is a lovely big playpark there for Matthew. I have wondered how the people living near the foghorn feel about the noise when it goes off in winter. Does it bother them? Does it wake them up at night if it starts when they are asleep, or does it keep them awake if it is sounding when they go to bed? One day when we got back from our walk in Sea Point, after quite a while I noticed that the foghorn was sounding. It had taken quite some time for me to notice the sound. It was a low sound, soft and gentle, yet far-reaching, and after listening to it I thought that it was quite pleasant, and that if I was in bed at night and heard it, I would find it quite comforting. I enjoyed listening to it.

In the same way the Spirit speaks to us in a still, small voice. We may not notice it if we aren’t listening for it, just as I didn’t notice the foghorn at first, but if we do hear it and listen to it, it is comforting and we will enjoy it. “The Lord was not in the wind… not in the earthquake… not in the fire, but after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19: 11 & 12).

I was surprised that the foghorn was sounding because there was only a slight seamist in the air. In the same way, the Spirit may warn us when there is only a slight danger, or when we aren’t expecting it. We need to attune our ears so that we will hear Him whenever He speaks to us, just as the Nephites had to open their ears to hear God speak to them just before Christ appeared. “They did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it” (3 Nephi 11: 5).

Of gulls and fish - leaving the safety of standards

One day as I looked out to sea I saw a large flock of seagulls and other birds flying low over the sea. They weren’t flying in any particular direction but were hovering close to the surface, diving and swooping. I wondered why they were doing this, and as I looked closely I saw a huge shoal of fish swimming close to the surface, some actually jumping up into the air and others flip-flopping about. All the birds had to do was stay close and the fish practically jumped into their mouths. 

In the same way, if we are careless about our standards and get too close to the edge, we can be caught by Satan and die spiritually. We need to stay well within the standards taught by the church to be safe. We may think we can handle ourselves and not be caught, and we may think we are having fun, but as we step onto the wrong side, we are stepping into Satan’s territory, like those fish leaving the safety of the sea and jumping into the air where they didn’t belong.

Standing strong in the storm

The areas through which the promenade runs are Mouille Point, Three Anchor Bay, Sea Point and Bantry Bay. One day when I arrived and parked my car in Three Anchor Bay, I was shocked at what I saw. The sea seemed to be boiling. It was more than rough or turbulent. It was violent and ferocious, and seemed to be very angry. I was reminded of the hymn, “Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!”  I had never seen such big waves.

As I looked along the promenade towards Sea Point, the waves were breaking against the wall of the promenade and were being thrown up into the sky twice as high as the lamp posts. Many gigantic waves were breaking over the railing and right across the promenade, which is about 8 meters wide, and onto the grass for several meters! It was too dangerous to walk there. I was stunned by what I was looking at.  I decided to walk along the pavement following the street, from where I could watch these enormous waves from a very safe distance. It was quite scary just to look at. (These photos don't do justice to what I saw that day.)

The next day when we returned, all of the sea storm was over. We walked safely along the promenade again. The 3rd verse of that hymn begins: “Master, the terror is over. The elements sweetly rest.” As we walked, I examined the concrete pillars which hold up the railings along the edge of the promenade.

They were all there. None had been swept away. I found myself silently congratulating them on standing their ground in such a violent storm. They had stood firm in spite of all the attacks of the sea, and at times being completely swallowed up by the waves. They didn’t budge. They didn’t give in. They were still in their place. I hope that we will be like those pillars – firm, steadfast and immoveable in spite of the storms with which life overwhelms us, despite the violent battering of giant waves that threaten to tear us down, and no matter what temptations may rage against us. The 2nd verse of that hymn comes to mind: “Torrents of sin and of anguish sweep o’er my sinking soul, and I perish! I perish! dear Master. Oh, hasten & take control.” I hope that we will always be found in our place, where we should be, unconquered & unconquerable.

Those pillars are made of solid, hard material. How firm is the material of which we are made? They are firmly rooted in their place with metal poles inside which hold them to the ground like roots. What holds us in place is a strong testimony of Christ for times when Satan rages against us and temptations threaten to overwhelm us. Having Jesus Christ as our anchor or foundation, as well as having a relationship with Him, which can be developed through prayer and scripture study, also holds us in our place.

 Helaman taught his sons: “Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)

Another thing which keeps the pillars firmly in place is that they are joined to each other by horizontal metal poles firmly inserted into each pillar. It looks like they are holding hands. This can be likened to us having strong relationships with others who will keep us strong when we cannot stand alone. These can be family members, friends, and ward members. We should hold onto each other in hard times and not let go. If we give up caring because someone stops attending church, they may be swept away by the waves in their lives. Like the pillars, if we let go of a brother or sister, we are weakened too by our lack of charity, or pure love. 

Master, the Tempest Is Raging

 1. Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness.
No shelter or help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish?
How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?

The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:
Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, be still; peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, peace, be still.

 2. Master, with anguish of spirit I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
Oh, hasten and take control!

 3. Master, the terror is over.
The elements sweetly rest.
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more,
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor
And rest on the blissful shore.

 Text: Mary Ann Baker, ca. 1874
 Music: H. R. Palmer, 1834–1907

I love the sea!

I love the sea! I live in Cape Town, South Africa and I love to walk along the seafront in Sea Point. For several kilometres there is a very wide walkway called the promenade. I can walk from the Waterfront to Bantry Bay, which is about 5 kilometres. I enjoy it because I can be right next to the sea without being in it, and it is much easier to walk on than a sandy beach, particularly as I push my 3 year old grandson, Matthew in a pram (stroller). I love to be at the sea. It has a calming, soothing effect on me, and I think it is one of the most beautiful of the creations. Because it is ever-changing, I find it ever-fascinating. As I walk and admire it, I like to think, to pray in my heart, and to listen for the Spirit. He has taught me many things as I walk along the sea and I would like to share a few of them with you in the future.

This photo shows Table Mountain with Lion's Head and Signal Hill in front of it. The promenade is along the edge of the sea (the white line next to the grass). Not all of it is shown here.