Week of March 25, 2002
Nancy E.

"Then God commanded, Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds. So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number."
     Genesis 1: 20-22

Have you ever thought about what God saw that pleased him after he had created the creatures that live in water? Earlier this month my husband, Jack, and I spent two weeks in and around San Diego, California. A considerable amount of our time was spent outdoors enjoying nature. On one of our adventures, we spent the day hiking the coast in La Jolla. The crashing Pacific waves on the cliffs around the cove area lived up to the boast I found in several travel books i.e., it is one of the most beautiful spots on earth.

My favorite spot on the hike was when we came to Children's Beach. Some time ago, the citizens of La Jolla decided to build a sea wall that would create a man-made cove with calm water in which children could safely swim. To their surprise, once this cove was created, the seals decided to claim the cove and its beach area. The seals proceeded to swim, sun themselves on the sand, and reproduce at Children's Beach. The environmentalists got involved and today Children's Beach is an official habitat for seals. Visitors are permitted to walk out on the sea wall to observe the daily activity of the seals as well as watch them from the hiking path but the swimming area and beach belong to the seals.

We found at least fifty mothers and babies there on the day of our visit. I felt our observations of the seals must have been part of what pleased God when he observed these creatures he created.

One baby seal was nursing. The mother used her flipper to gently caress the baby as it drank. From time to time, the baby would pull away to roll in the sand. Each time it returned for additional nourishment, mother would again stroke the baby gently with her flipper as it sucked. What a lucky baby to experience such assurance of its mother's love.

Getting in and out of the water was easy for the babies but most difficult for the heavy mothers. Yet, each time a baby would move toward the water, the mother would laboriously pull herself after it along the sand and into the water i.e., protecting the baby.

The baby seals, just like human babies, would much rather swim than nap. Mothers, however, tried to convince the babies that naps were in order. Sometimes they won; other times they found a nap in the sun had to be postponed for a swim.

It was truly humbling to watch the instinctive mothering efforts of these wonderful creatures God created. If you are ever in the La Jolla area, I strongly urge you to visit Children's Beach and be prepared to spend considerable time being enchanted by nature.

God, as you observe us in our daily activities, may you be as pleased with us as you were with the creatures you created on the fifth day. Amen.

Contributed by Nancy E.
Published Monday March 25, 2002
Week 17 of Liturgical Year A