On a Sunday afternoon several years ago, I went to the beach for my church’s beach baptism.   The event seemed like a perfect opportunity to get in some long past due snorkeling time, so I got to the beach an hour or so beforehand to spend some time alone in the water. Some things had been weighing heavily on my mind and heart and I needed some time to search for peace.

Being a marine biologist, snorkeling and diving gives me great joy.  There are very few things I find more peaceful than gliding through the water listening to the rhythmic sound of life eminating from the creatures of the ocean.  I feel as though I am in my element.

This particular beach is one of my favorite snorkeling spots because drifting with the strong current as it sweeps parallel with the shore can give you the sensation of flying through the water.  The currents and water clarity often attract a greater variety of creatures than would be typically found in the water off a beach.

In great anticipation of my “water time”, I put on my fins and headed out to deeper water where the lush seagrass carpets the bottom.  I swam south against the current so that farther up the beach I could turn around and drift with the current back to where I started.

One of the most magnificent things that I had ever seen at this beach was a school of 5 spotted eagle rays; but that was years ago and although schooling fish may frequent an area for awhile, their transient nature left no guarantees of repeat performances.  Still, each time I snorkeled there, I hoped that I might see some again.

This particular day while snorkeling, I saw some interesting things; a jawfish tidying up the “front porch” of its burrow, an urchin with unusually artistic camouflage composed of sponges and coral, and quite a few snappers darting around.  Knowing that I had limited time to spend in the water, I looked impatiently for something really fantastic before I had to get out, but it didn’t show up.

Feeling disappointment setting in, I turned around and started to head back to shore; drifting with the current and taking my time to look around as I “flew” over the seagrass.  Although the snorkeling was a good distraction, my heart was still weighed down with burden.  I prayed that God would make His presence known to me; I really needed to feel Him close that day.

With those eagle rays in the back of my mind, I challenged God to show Himself to me in a clear and tangible way. In my mind I told Him that I needed to see Him in THAT specific way, “…let me see an eagle ray today God.”

I continued on my way back to shore getting into shallower waters, where one would not typically see an eagle ray; not believing that God would actually rise to the challenge. The closer I got to shore, the more disappointed I felt. “God, you let me down again.” I complained in my heart.

Then, just a few minutes after I prayed, I looked to my left and saw a “poof” in the seagrass below and a trail of bubbles heading north, running with the current.  This was a tell-tale sign that something was just there, so I started to look for it.  I followed the trail a bit and as I looked ahead of me, I saw it; an eagle ray!  I began to follow it, drinking in its graceful, seemingly effortless movement through the water.  Suspended in the current, I watched in awe when suddenly another one came up next to me on the left and followed the first one, heading down current.

Now I was really excited, and as I continued to swim with the first one, the second one banked off to the left.  As I watched the second eagle ray turn away, I saw yet ANOTHER eagle ray at the edge of the visibility zone, turning around and heading south into the current!  Giving a couple of swift kicks, I followed the first one that I spotted for a little bit longer as it swam off into the distance.

That day, I challenged God and at the point when my unbelief began to overwhelm me, He showed me how weak my faith was. In those moments of disappointment, I gave up on God, but He did not give up on me.  Instead, God made His presence known to me in a very real and personal way. Not only had He given me the gift of one eagle ray, but He delighted me with the presence of three; the perfect number to drive His point home.  God, the Father, was with me and He reminded me with the the second and third eagle rays that Jesus, His Son, and the Holy Spirit were there as well.  Those three eagle rays were like rays of sunlight into my troubled world, rejuvenating my weary soul.

I was amazed and stunned at the goodness of God, as if I didn’t already know about it.  Once again, He made me keenly aware of how deeply He loves me by showing me a glimpse of His glory.  As I watched that last eagle ray disappear into the blue-green landscape, I could see praise trailing from its wingtips as it “flew” through the water.

I believe that if God were to show us all of the incredible things about Himself, we would be crippled and blinded by the sight.  Instead, God shows us His glory in glimpses, so that we might get just a taste of how awesome He is.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is that man who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8