Timing is Everything
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11a (NKJV)
I am sitting at my desk looking out the office window thinking about how much our lives have changed over the past six weeks. The threat of COVID-19 has created a global panic that has severely altered the course of our personal and national history. It seems to have happened so unexpectedly and so quickly that I am still reeling with this new reality. Words that had never been mentioned prior to this season are now commonplace: social distancing, stay-at-home order, self-isolation. I find myself asking: How long is this season going to last?
With all the beaches and parks closed and public meetings prohibited, Saltwater Studies has transitioned to online learning options. In searching through my files for underwater video footage to share with my students, I came across this picture and God reminded me of a lesson He had taught me last year: God brings beauty from the most unlikely of sources.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor…to give them beauty for ashes.” Isaiah 61:1a, 3a (NKJV)
This is a sea cucumber that is relieving itself of waste generated by its feeding activities. While your first reaction may be recoil or disgust, God has designed the waste of sea cucumbers to play a critical role in one of the most beautiful marine environments in the ocean: the coral reefs. Sea cucumbers are benthic scavengers. This means that they search for food along the sea floor, consuming both edible bits as well as a large amount of sandy sediment. This sediment is processed by their digestive system and deposited as ropy lines of waste material on the ocean’s floor. The story of the sea cucumber’s waste material, however, does not end there. Surprisingly, scientists have discovered that sea cucumber waste plays an important role in marine ecosystems as it provides essential nutrients to other organisms. It is of particular importance to hermatypic (reef-building) corals which use the calcium carbonate from sea cucumber waste material to build their skeletons. These same skeletons are the foundation for the astonishing beauty of the coral reef environment. In this relationship, we see an example of God’s nature, bringing beauty from ashes in His timing.
As we wait for God’s perfect timing to end this time of seclusion, I am already seeing glimpses of the beauty that will come forth from this event. Reports state that Bibles are in high demand and are being sold out in various stores. Families are spending more time together. People are reevaluating what is important. It is as if God has allowed COVID-19 to hit the pause button on our normally busy lives and hectic schedules so that we can all take a break and breathe. One of the scenes that I noticed that particularly struck me is that I am seeing fathers in the stores shopping with their children and laughing. It seemed strange to me that this would stand out so vividly in my interactions with people but as I considered it, I realized that most of the time it is the mothers I see with their children at the grocery stores. When shopping, moms are normally rushing, trying to grab the few items they need to prepare dinner and hurrying so as not to be late. They herd their children through the store, telling them “no” to that extra candy bar and trying to keep wandering hands from grabbing something they shouldn’t or making a mess. For moms, shopping is a task they must accomplish in their ever-busy days. In stark contrast, during this season, more dads are working from home and it seems that they have more time to shop with their children. Perhaps it is because the dads have more of a vacation mindset that they are more relaxed in the stores. Shopping with their children must be a major departure from their normal routine. And this frees them to have fun. Watching them laugh and playfully interact with their kids always brings a smile to my face. What great memories they are creating with their children! Hopefully, this is what their kids will remember: extra time with dad, not the fear propagated by the national news media. And in these seemingly dark days, we can already see evidence of what God promises to do: bring beauty from ashes.