The Tide and Creationtide

                                                      Change Islands, Newfoundland -- Ruth Mundy

When the waters saw you, O God,

    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    the very deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
    the skies thundered;
    your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    your lightnings lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
    your path through the mighty waters,
    yet your footprints were unseen.
20 

                   Psalm 77: 16-19 NRSVue 

1 I feel the winds of God today; today my sail I lift,

though heavy oft with drenching spray and torn with many a rift;

if hope but light the water's crest, and Christ my bark will use,

I'll seek the seas at his behest, and brave another cruise.

                            Voices United 625

We are a bit crazy when it comes to wind and tides, revelling in the power of the sea. So, this past Monday, the day of my pre-posted Creationtide blog entry -- coincidentally -- we headed out to a trail on Change Islands, Newfoundland, to check out the aftermath of Hurricane Lee. Even though there were no signficant effects on the east side of the province the winds were in the 50 to 80 kilometre per hour range and there was a "sea on" to use the Newfoundland vernacular. 

The Squid Jigger trail is a roller coaster, up to headlands, down to coves, and at one spot we were incredibly close to an otter which was feeding on a lobster, a meaningful "I-thou" moment as it stared at us from only a few metres away. 

On the heights we got our fill of crashing waves and managed to stay upright in the midst of buffeting gusts, what Newfoundlanders once called a faffering wind. On our return walk we got a bit of a surprise as the tide had risen and the wind increased. Two portions of the trail at the end of different coves had become submerged, something we'd never experienced on this trail before. 

To say it was the "perfect storm" of tide and storm surge would be an exaggeration but it required two old-timers to do some thrashing about in the tuckamore to keep our feet and ankles dry. We could laugh about it as we made our way through the thick white spruce. 

It was a heavenly coincidence given my declared appreciation of the Anglican term, Creationtide. As it happened, the lectionary psalm for the day, Psalm 77, contained the verses I included above. Were we following in the Creator's footsteps as we muddled about in the thicket? It sure didn't feel like it, but the thought does redeem those few minutes of problem-solving!

                                                     Change Islands, Newfoundland -- Ruth Mundy