Knowing your place
a manatee encounter inspires some reflection
Rain falls in northern Florida. The water then percolates through the porous limestone aquifer, yielding crystal clear water which finds its way to the surface through holes in the ground that we call springs. The water bubbles out, providing spectacular places to swim and, in the winter, attracting manatees due to the constant 70-degree temperature. Even within Florida, there is a search for the warmest weather. Our favorite spring gathers manatees as the water temperature cools in coastal areas and at one point last year, there were 1000 of these amazing creatures luxuriating in the warm spring. The State Park system manages this spring and is set to close it for swimming soon. I wanted one last chance to enjoy this beautiful place.
My planning was rewarded with being able to enjoy the spring head by myself. This is the area where the ground opens into a crack almost 100 feet deep, and millions of gallons of water pour forth each day. I remember times past swimming with the family and also times where there were 100s of people trying to enjoy it. The silence and solitude are refreshing. I start to swim downstream and come across a large (think large car-sized) female manatee with her baby and another smaller adult. The three manatees graze on the bottom and rest. I don’t approach closely, but keep my distance, marveling at these amazing creatures once endangered and now thriving thanks to concerted conservation efforts – at least in the USA; they are still extremely rare in other countries where they once flourished. The alligator gar were nearby; these 3-4 foot long fish usually hide, but today they were out and about due to the low number of people in the water. I remember the trees that have fallen into the water where we have stopped as a family in times past to chat about our experiences. I remember a group of students and interns I have taken to this place and the joy and wonder of their experiences of this beautiful place. It is good to know a place intimately.
Where is your place? Is there somewhere you know that you can understand changes through time, the species that inhabit it, and remember experiences with friends and family? I would encourage you to have a place that is “yours.” Of course, it is actually God’s, as Psalm 24 reminds us, but we thrive and flourish as the places we know thrive and flourish. Perhaps on Black Friday or on Boxing Day (Dec 26th), reject the sales and get out to your place. If you don’t have one, now is the time to build those memories.
There are multiple ways in which you can partner with me in the coming year:
1. Purchase and give a copy of my book Connected by Water to someone you think might appreciate it – available through Amazon.
2. Pass on this newsletter to a friend who you think might be interested.
3. Talk to friends/church/secular group about a visit to Florida. We have a weekend or week-long program that will introduce them to our work, and they might just see those manatees.
4. Give this year using the QR code below.
