Light in the Fog

I had not planned to run yesterday.  We attended the First United Methodist Church in Morehead City and heard a good sermon, by Associate Pastor Sarah Williams, continuing the series on Jesus's "I Am" statements.  Today Sarah talked a little about "I am the light of the world," and Pastor Powell read those  beautiful verses from John:

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: 

God is light; 

in him there is no darkness at all.

I have always loved that additional phrase, "in him there is no darkness at all."  After church we went to the Shuckin Shack restaurant in Morehead for a light lunch and returned to the condo.  Our plan was to run on Monday, but the weather forecast called for rain Monday morning, so I suddenly decided to take advantage of another warm day, with no rain, and I told Martha I thought I might go for a run.  "I know," I said.  "I'm not right in the head."

I ran down to the Picnic Area and then out onto the beach.  It was low tide, but fog was rolling in from the ocean, and although the beach was wide and flat I could not see anything beyond that.  But I knew it was about a mile  back to the condo, so I stopped at that point and made my way up to the dunes, looking for a familiar landmark.  No buildings were visible at all.  Finally I spotted a white bench and a trash can I thought I recognized, and then the familiar path to Sands Villas.  By the time I reached the dune-top deck I could finally see the condos there in the fog.

This morning, I realized we had gotten on different schedules.  Martha had decided (wisely) to stick with the plan and run this morning, but what was I to do?  I decided it would be best to run, also, although it had only been a few hours from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.

The weather has remained unusually warm and there was still  fog out on the ocean, and a few minutes before we planned to run it suddenly started to rain, then stopped.  We decided to go quickly, again seizing the opportunity between the periodic rain showers.  I completed four miles and Martha five, and shortly after our return it began to rain again.  I was glad to be on the same schedule as she was again.

This afternoon we did some shopping and then returned and made some more improvements to the condo.  The shower head in the Master Bedroom was so old that it did not work well; I suspect it was the original one installed in the mid-80s.  So we found a good Moen shower head with a lifetime warranty, picked up some tools, and made the replacement in no time.  We like to leave this condo just a little better each year that we stay here!  It's the least we can do. 

After dinner tonight, the fog rolled in again.  We went out on the walkway and everything was starting to disappear in this spooky, thick fog that comes in from the ocean out here on the coast.  We could hear but not see the waves breaking in front of us.  And we could barely see the buildings off to the east.

Returning on the walkway, Martha - always spotting things that I miss - saw this little fellow, a tiny frog that would have fit on a dime with room to spare.  

Yes, it's warm enough for frogs, and probably snakes as well.  We will have to watch where we are stepping on our next hike at Fort Macon.  And a pestering fly has somehow come into the condo, too, which is normally unheard of in January!  It is almost as if Spring has arrived.

Now we are settling down to read books as the fog becomes thicker and thicker, the lights along the walkway shining dimly, reminding me of Sarah's sermon yesterday.