Wonderful Whale Breach

This blog was written by Hanna Clark and used with her permission

This afternoon school let out early because it was a test day. Ben and I had an hour to ourselves before the kids got out. We walked around the base a bit and went to the top of the guest house to enjoy the view. 

We were chatting about our adjustment to life here - the hard things, the good things, the unexpected in each category. 

Ben spotted some movement in the water a mile or two from shore. He had just said, "Look, honey!" when an enormous humpback whale breached. It's hard to describe how cool it was to witness. 

The thing is, we were the only ones that saw it. Business around the base was humming along as usual, people walking around working, etc.  We were so lucky to be there in that precise moment and have our eyes on the ocean. 

It got me thinking. This beautiful, majestic, wild thing had just happened, but we were the only ones who saw it and enjoyed it immensely! 

The ocean is almost larger than we can imagine. How many times has nature displayed some hidden glory without any human witness? 

How many pods of porpoises, how many corals, how many spinner dolphins, how much wonder there is!

And yet almost always, God is the only audience. Nature sings to Him and for Him, and even though it is hidden, and could appear as a waste from our human perspective, God takes joy in every little miracle. 

Here's the thing. He sees all the hidden wonders. All the things that are not witnessed by others.

He sees you humming while you do the dishes. He sees you wiping the table. He sees you balancing your checkbook. He sees you adjusting your attitude when it's a real effort. He sees you making loving choices over and over, and repenting when you don't.

He hears you laughing at a book you're reading. He sees and hears and witnesses all these hidden things, and He values them. 

He values the work of parenting. He values the difficulty of cultural, social, and physical adjustments. He values perseverance. He delights in lives surrendered to Him, even in the secret places.

So, I was encouraged. The same God who let me share in His joy by watching that whale breach takes joy in all the funny, sweet, hard and wonderful things in me. 

There are many who live here for years, even a lifetime, and never see a whale breach. And I just know that moment was meant for us. 

Courage, friends! He sees you.

© 2020 Hanna Clark USED WITH PERMISSION

A Letter From Sand Hill Bible Camp

Dear Mom & Dad:

We are having a great time here at Senior High Camp.

Pastor Ben is making us all write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and worried.  We are OK. Only 1 of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away.  Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Joel when it happened.  

Oh yes, please call Joel Pokorny's mother and tell her he is OK.  He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search & rescue jeeps.  It was neat.  We never would have found him in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning. Pastor Ben got mad at Joel for going on a hike alone without telling anyone.  Joel said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him.


Did you know that if you put gas on a fire; the gas-can will also blow up?

The wet wood still didn't burn, but one of our tents did and some of our clothes.  Tyler Hanna is going to look weird until his hair grows back.


We will be home on Saturday if Pastor Ben gets the car fixed.  It wasn't his fault about the wreck.  The brakes worked OK when we left.


Pastor Ben said that a car that old you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance on it.  We think it's a neat car. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it’s hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the tailgate. It gets pretty hot with 10 people in a car.  He let us take turns riding in the trailer until highway patrolman stopped and talked to us.

Pastor Ben is a neat guy.  Don't worry, he is a good driver.  In fact, he is teaching little Stanley Burlager how to drive.  But he only lets him drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any traffic.  All we ever see up there are logging trucks.


This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake.  Pastor Ben wouldn't let me because I can't swim and Joel was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake.  It was great.  You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood.  


Pastor Ben isn't crabby like some youth pastors. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets.  He has to spend lot of time working on the car so we are trying not to cause him any trouble. 


Guess what?  We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Brian McCormick dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Also Rich Hanson and I threw up. Pastor Ben said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken.  


I have to go now.  We are going into town to mail our letters and buy bullets. Don't worry about anything.  We are fine.


Love, Tommy O


P.S.  How long has it been since I had a tetanus shot?

NOTE: This was a re-write of an old classic