I have been asked that question many times. People who come into my home and see my collection and my pictures and ask "what is your fascination with lighthouses?" When travelling and asking travelling companions to stop at a lighthouse, the question always arises, "what is with you and lighthouses?" My answer is almost always, "I don't really know." But after thinking about it while lying in bed this morning, looking out the window directly at the Point Arena Lighthouse, I think I might be closer to coming up with an answer.
Point Arena Lighthouse
This one, for instance, is so majestic, a solitary signal of strength. I find the setting to be quite romantic. Last night when I pulled up to this lighthouse it was surrounded by fog and it felt mysterious. Majestic, solitary, strength, romantic, mysterious - what is there not to like?
Yesterday I visited the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse and it brought back a revelatory memory. The last time I took this coastal road trip, many years ago, I found myself in a very dense fog when I got to Fort Bragg, CA. I knew there was a lighthouse up ahead that I wanted to see before I stopped for the night, and I didn't want to back track the next day to see it, so I pushed forward.
I arrived at the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Park about 30 minutes before they were closing the gates. I was traveling alone, the fog was so thick, and time was running out. I almost bypassed it but the desire was too strong. I pulled in the parking lot and asked the volunteer for directions. He told me it was a half mile walk down to the lighthouse and it was closed, but I was welcome to "run" down and take a look. I headed on down the path, but not before seeing the sign that warned me about mountain lions in the area! Geez! I couldn't see a thing but all of a sudden I heard lots of noises to my right and left. That helped me to hurry on my way.
I kept walking and walking and walking and still no light. More chomping noises. No sounds of waves. The whole thing was so eerie but for some reason I kept moving forward. I knew I had to be getting closer but still, I couldn't see the light house. It was getting darker and foggier, and then, just as I thought the fear was going to win the day, the light! And when I saw the light I was overwhelmed with a sense of awe and security and reverence. It was there, saying "Here I Am." It seemed the fog lifted a bit (which I'm sure it did not) and I saw calla lilies on the cliffs and the chomping was coming from the deer on both sides. And, I heard the ever present crashing of waves below that I had not heard on my rapid walk.
Point Cabrillo Lighthouse
This is not the picture I took, but I did take one that evening and it is framed and in a prominent place in my home for me to see, to remind me of that very spiritual experience.
Yesterday I actually got to see the lighthouse not shrouded in fog and it has to be one of my favorites. Even though it's not tall and majestic, it's light is just as strong, cutting through that fog to warn those, off its part of the coastline, of danger. Steady, strong, saying "Do not be afraid. Here I Am."
That experienced helped me understand why Christ is referred to as The Light. His love and grace cut through the fog of a confused and sinful soul to say, "Do not be afraid. Here I Am. Follow the Light."
Maybe that's why I've been so attracted to lighthouses. Maybe my soul, my spirit, has understood it but my hurried, worried, intellectual mind never took the time to stop and listen to my soul. But something has always struck a chord inside me and drew me to the lighthouses.
“Anxiously you ask, 'Is there a way to safety? Can someone guide me? Is there an escape from threatened destruction?' The answer is a resounding yes! I counsel you: Look to the lighthouse of the Lord. There is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what its beacon light can rescue. It beckons through the storms of life. It calls, 'This way to safety; this way to home.” Thomas S. Monson
“We have a light upon our house, and it gives hope to all who sail upon the stormy seas. Do ya know what it means to have a light burning atop your home? It is safety, a place of refuge, seen by all that as a signal that ye stand for something greater than this world, greater than us all.” James Michael Pratt
“A good book is a lighthouse; a wise man is a lighthouse; conscience is a lighthouse; compassion is a lighthouse; science is a lighthouse! They all show us the true path! Keep them in your life to remain safe in the rocky and dark waters of life!” Mehmet Murat ildan
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