When I saw it, I wished my mom and dad were here on the boat with me to see it. I know they would have felt the same sense of wonder and delight as I did. I didn't snap a photo, but I drew the picture above to give you a sense of the incredible grandeur of what I saw.
Why do dolphins do that? It looked for all the world to me like ecstatic joy. Were that me instead of the dolphin, joy would certainly be my motivation for such a spectacular leap towards Heaven. It turns out, I am not the only one to question the motivation of such splendor. Scientists really don't know why dolphin leap. Some of the theories are: to get a better view of where food might be, to communicate with mates or the pod, to crash away parasites...or to have fun.
I'm going with the having fun theory. That's in part why I was out there too. The other part might be something else me and the dolphin shared. We were both reaching up to Heaven. I never hear God more clearly than I do when surrounded by His creation in a peaceful, beautiful place. He is there always, of course, in the struggles, the ugly places, the noisy places as well....but my heart is most in tune with the blessing and joy of knowing God when I am in the midst of quiet beauty.
When I saw the dolphins feeding right near my boat, I was awestruck, but also a bit fearful. They are huge creatures, and could easily overturn my boat if they wanted to. I never hear of them doing so, and realize that they are supposedly friendly to humans, but nonetheless, knowing their power, I have a healthy respect for them. It is again, not unlike my feeling for God.
But my adventures at the beach were not over. As I sat with my family later on shore, a nearby fisherman caught a baby shark. Here is the shark's picture:
"Go to your father!!!" called my husband. Good advice for any of us when we are in trouble. We should all go immediately to Our Father.
The little girl began sobbing and climbed onto her father's back. The shark wasn't interested in eating the little girl though. He was after the fish at low tide. He cruised away and I called out to the crying little girl that it was ok, the shark was gone. The Stupid father kept fishing. (forgive me Lord for calling the stupid father stupid, but you know the truth....)
A moment later, my daughter, Asherel, pointed in the distance.
"A shark just jumped."
I looked over. I saw the giant fish as it crashed back into the water.
"Dolphins!!! Sharks don't jump!" I cried excitedly.
We watched enthralled as dolphins leaped into the air, four or five in a row. Wow! Twice in one day I was to be blessed with such magnificence!
I learned later that the vast majority of sharks at Hilton Head are Black Tip sharks. While generally shy, when food is around, they can become aggressive and are responsible for many human bites.
Great.
Also, they are the one shark species which will leap out of the water, like dolphins!! Maybe Asherel did see a shark leaping, though the things I saw leaping were definitely dolphins.
After the shark incident, Asherel and my husband biked back to the condo. Not me. I sat on the beach watching the tide continue to recede, eying the horizon for glimpses of any leaping fish, shark, or dolphin. I saw a few. I didn't want to leave. I sat there another hour, recalling how I had thought of God in very opposing scenes that day. First, during the peaceful grandeur of the dolphin leaping that morn- I thought of His incredible gifts and provision. Second, that afternoon, I pondered God and His protection when I saw the frightening specter of the shark between the little girl and shore.
Run to your father! Oh beloved, do not be afraid! Run to your Father!
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