vandelized. swan.

I grew up in the beautiful city of Center Moriches. Hold the laughter, it is a small city-yes, but it is located in one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Surrounded completely by water, Long Island floats like a giant barge, hanging on to New York by a mystical land called… well, yes New York City. Upon this barge lies a diversity of ethnicities, religions and cultures. It is also a quite schizophrenic society. You have the richest of the rich (Yes, Billy Joel and Kristy Brinkley did reside a few miles down the road… not to mention the precious Hamptons that we all could only dream of settling in one day) yet, then you have the slums of the slums, where even the sun seems to be frothed in a sweater of grey pollution. It’s a crazy place it is.

Lucky for me, our house (I guess I should say Dad’s beautiful house) is located on the water. We have a channel to the back of our house, the bay to the side of our house… and if you were to walk about a block, you would hit an inlet. We have big trees out front, perfect for climbing in, and a “snake-forest” in the back, which is no forest at all, but vines and thorns… Anyhow, growing up on an island, it was only custom to be involved in water sports. From sailing, to fishing, to swimming… Long Islanders are known for their savvy water skills. I was 6 years old when I began riding my bike down to the Yacht club on our bay. (A scary bike ride I must say for those who have awful directional ability… ahem, ME) somehow I made it there safe every time. I always remember, before turning into the beautiful club, stopping and looking at a particular boat house off to the left side of the bay. It was big, and usually harbored some pretty glam boats. The grass was manicured and the boats were continually waxed. In front of this house, there stood a 15 foot pole…this, was to hang sharks from. Yes, this is where I grew up. Quite enthralling I must say. Kate used to sail off this dock; I never got into sailing, although I regret that now. (I do, however have my boaters license, YES … me and my friends the “Sea Galz” bought our very own boat in the eighth grade and got licensed at 14. What a waste of money- ha.)

::Cool music plays::– TEN years later.

Well unfortunately, my family took a different direction a few years later, and my mom and sister and I moved to Florida. Lucky for me, I got to have TWO amazing homes, both in walking distance of the water. In that first year of moving to Florida I flew back to spend some time with the ol’ pops. It was around Christmas time. Now, Long Island is cold as Alaska in the winter. Mucky brown snow banks line the roads… well one day it began to rain, and I decided to take a walk. (I am beginning to realize what a weirdo I can be… ) so it is freezing out, and I decide to throw on a winter coat and some crazy rain coat to go on an adventure. I brought my dad’s ipod, and decided to take some time to reflect and pray…
It was one of those walks where I let my feet decide where I would go, no plan, just started walking. I ended up heading back to that old familiar Yacht club. Ahead of me, I saw a rusty 15 foot pole… flashbacks came flooding in with the rain, as I approached … my breath literally was taken from me. To my left, the beautiful boat house was deserted. The lawn, although covered in a light snow, was ragged, and un-kept. The boards of wood were weathered and tethered. Across the side there were profanities spray painted in a rainbow of colors. I stood there, and began to cry. There was such symbolism in what I saw. This thing, which harbored such beautiful, beautiful boats, was walked out on, abandoned and decrepit. Recently committing to faith in Jesus Christ, I began thinking of how great of a representation this is… of how we have treated this earth that has been granted to us. So much in life is neglected because of the selfish condition of the human paradigm. We are handed jewels, and to keep them brilliant… takes our time, time we don’t have… so we kick it away from us.
How dare we be expected to be good keepers? Things should cater to us.

I began to inwardly reflect on how much I had taken for granted… beauty is fleeting, not in humans only, but in life. It lasts for a season, and it is gone… or is it?

As I stood there listening to Handel’s messiah, almost in sequence with the music, two swans the size of large dogs, come out, in the snow, around front of the boat house, walking side by side. With a backdrop of colorful vandalism, these swans came out and marked my life forever.

Their white feathers were even more brilliant in the contrast of the moment.

“Life is still beautiful, amidst your circumstances, your failures and your abandonment. God’s intent is always beautiful and it far surpasses our ability to screw things up…. ”
I remember it like it was yesterday. That, which is in perfect image of what God intended it to be, the swans, untainted by human garbage, were still beautiful.

To be what God intended us to be. It is such a profound thought- yet, so very, very simple. To love others, to love Jesus and to never compare ourselves with the backdrop of this world and our ever-changing society, because truly… in the end, the contrast of the two will be incomparable, our feathers will only appear whiter… at least to The One who matters.

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