This was a fortuitous shot, this silhouette of the boys on the Atlantic shore in December 2002. I knew the effect would be nice: their shadowy forms against the sun-drenched, glittering surf. But the arrangement of their forms was not something I had planned – nor could have. And yet, on seeing the result the second or third time, it struck me as a poignant picture of the boys – not just for that one moment in time, but for this wonderful time in their lives:

Nathan, the eldest brother, is walking out beyond the shoreline and looking back toward his brothers.

Fourteen at this point in his life, he has been a teenager for a while and is trying out this wide world. He’s wading off the shore of his youth to begin preparation for launching into the sea of adulthood. It is not his time to sail out just yet, but he would plumb its depth and know its power before he attempts his inaugural voyage.

And yet, he glances back, knowing that, leaving the shore, he must soon also leave a part of himself behind. The shore where he was nurtured – where all his life he heard tales of the sea – will soon give him up to the deep waters, where alone he will chart his own course to find himself… and his God.

Kyle, twelve in this photo, stands on the shore facing his elder brother. He knows his time to step out is not far behind. His very posture seems pensive, as if he would watch his brother until he’s gone from view. He too has heard tales of the sea of life, and seeing his brother launch out before him will fuel his own desire to sail off.

He will be advantaged by the same teaching his elder had, but more: he will also watch the elder to see how the waves and the currents carry him, and how he carries himself. But the second will learn that what works (or fails to work) for his elder will not always work (or fail) for him. His course may be charted for vastly different waters. He, too, is eager for the chance to sail out, but for now he is content on the shore.

Seated near Kyle is the youngest, Jordan. He is six in this photo. The shore suits him so well that he sits and rests; he has yet none of the fascination for the deep that his elder brothers have. His is a smaller world, and there is much yet to be learned.

For now it will be enough to watch the souls of those who go out and come in and hear their tales of life on the deep. Though he is not much impressed - or not so much as his brothers - he will manage to hide away the stories. When the day comes that he recalls them, they will seem fresher, more vibrant and meaningful. And if he wisely gleans from them, his journey will be ever more peaceable - even the storms will seem more as milestones than millstones.

So it is, we all have our passage into the deep - into the place where we do business with God. And though our business with Him may take each of us to diverse places on life’s sea, He will assuredly give us all one lesson:

"TRUST ME.

"I, who made the seas and all that sail them, have journeyed myself on the waves. I know what it is to be tossed and what strength the winds may muster.

"I know how the black clouds steal the sun and stars that map your path through the deep, and how with abandon they empty themselves of rain and lightning and thunderous noise. I know how the dark, churning sea swallows whole ships and crew. I know how rugged shorelines gnash at the ship with jagged, rocked teeth.

"But I know that the same clouds bring fresh water to slake your thirst from the salty air, and the same winds fill your sails to bursting, and carry you swiftly to your desired haven.

"All who sailed life’s seas before you have known the same fears. But you will not know my power any other way. The shore holds safety, indeed… but the deep holds mysteries of ‘great and mighty things thou knowest not’… ‘but thou shalt know hereafter.’ Only in surrendering yourself to current and wind and wave (mere circumstances, all) can you ever hope to fully know the salvation I alone can bring.

"The shore promises safety, it’s true; but if you would know me fully, only the deep waters will reveal me. For I have said…

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

"Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:23-31).

(c) Darrell Reedy, 2003