Baby Seals

Here is the deal. I haven’t blogged in a while, but I am sure you have noticed. At this point, nobody should even be coming to this site so I don’t think anyone at all will read this. Which means I get to write to the impersonal, you, out in them land.

Labor day a week ago, I spent at Discovery Park here in Seattle. My original intentions where to go camping, but that didn’t work out. Discovery was a good second. The day started mid morning as I decided to sleep downstairs without a clock. I rolled out of bed around 9:00, ate some breakfast and then jumped in the car to look for a secluded spot to sit, read, journal, study, and pray. Magnolia hill has some small parks surrounding the top of the hill with benches and good views. On the way there I was talking to God about a good place to spend some time. I wanted a picnic table, near the top of a hill, looking west so I could see the mountains and Sound. Isolated would be nice and situated in the shade of a tree since the sun was shining brightly that day. I drove around Magnolia without any luck and ended up in Discovery Park. It showed promise. Well, after parking the car, packing a little water and my books, I set out in the park. It was only minutes of walking when right there, as I pictured it in my head and prayed for in my heart, was my picnic table. Coincidence or God?

The next few hours included some good times in the Word, a little prayer, reflection, and rest.

I then went for a reflective walk. Discovery Park is pretty big and you can definitely get lost in it. Along the way I met Lisa. She was a 50 something lady from Orlando, FL. Altamonte Springs to be exact. She is a speech therapist, but her passion is really working with orphaned animals. She is tired of working with humans. We talked for a couple hours. She doesn’t like her sister-in-law who lives here in Seattle with her brother and two nephews. Lisa is originally from Indiana but moved to Florida with her husband back in the 90s. It was nice to sit and talk. After her brother and his wife returned from circling the park, I was by myself again. A few more hours, a nap on some rocks down by the water, finding a set of concrete stairs that just disappeared into the water, and lots of walking filled the day.

The most notable event was in the afternoon. Walking along the beach I noticed a group of people congregated, looking and pointing toward the water, and chatting together. As I drew closer, I notice what all the excitement was about. An adorable baby seal was lying amongst the drift wood about 10 feet from the waters edge. No one knew what to do, but everyone knew something had to be done. Comments like, “It looks in distress!”, “It is trying to get to the water, we should help it.”, “Has someone called the park service?”, and the like were brought up by each person that entered our little group. With authority, a lady stated that her friend knows this guy that is on the board of directors for the park and that he said that mother seals will sometimes leave their young on the beaches for up to 12 hours (they have highly developed internal clocks) while they search for food and that we shouldn’t disturb the young seal. A younger guy had to be almost restrained from going down to the water to push the seal in. It was quite comical.

I stood there for a while. The seal was very cute. It would look back at us from the waters edge with its big, dark eyes and supermodel eyelashes and just seems to beg for pity and help. I can sense why there are so many conscience souls that are sold out on their protection. I was close to giving it a little shove towards the water myself.

Standing there I wished I had had this amazing insight into our human psyche, but I didn’t. All I could think about was how these people wanted to help something that probably didn’t want or need our help.

The day ended like this blog will, with more of a whimper than a bang. It was a good day none the less.

It is tomorrow.

Jason