marine layer

The coast of California is unparalleled for natural beauty over hundreds of miles.  Once you get north of the heavy population centers around Los Angeles it isn't long before you find unspoiled and uncommercialized grandeur from the mountains that run down to the sea and the acres of open grassland and vineyards.  We were surprised to even see pastures of cattle grazing on choice land overlooking the ocean!  At one site, where a number of cars had parked, we pulled over to view scores of elephant seals resting on the beach from their migrations up and down the open water.  But there was one phenomenon that seemed to be common up and down the coast from San Diego to San Francisco.  It is called the "marine layer" or "sea fog".  The hot summer air of California mixes with the cool waters of the Pacific to generate a kind of cloud or fog that hangs right over the coast until the sun rises high enough in the sky to burn it off.  They were experiencing especially hot weather when we were there and the sea fog hung over San Francisco until well into the afternoon.  I thought about what happens when the intense heat of God's truth comes into contact with the coolness of people.  There seems to be a similar "sea fog" that covers the picture until the sun (or the Son) rises high enough in the sky to even out the temperature difference and melt the fog away.  When we were in the lovely town of Santa Barbara and walked out on a very long wharf there one of the natives told us that the fog was called "June Gloom" and it seemed to remain all morning, shrouding the beautiful hills from view that lined the shore.  How many of us are walking in fog because we haven't allowed the Son to rise high enough in our vision to warm us to His presence and clear up our view of the beauty that truly surrounds and fills us!

blessings,

Rob Smith