December 4th, Advent Day 08
You never know when a sign of hope – which is what Advent is all about – is just beyond the next corner.
Every summer my sister and I go to Topsail Island. We love the quietness of the town, the clean white beaches, and the lack of anything to do but stare at the waves or take a swim.
We’re always surrounded by cheerful, good-looking people, having a great time. Dads and Moms splashing in the surf with their tiny children – for once, freed from housework and homework, with lots of time to just play. All kinds of couples walking hand-in-hand in the lingering sunlight at the end of the day. It is sweet and warm and restful. Beautiful, in so many ways. A kind of paradise on earth for us.
This year, as usual, we walked the beach in the early morning. As we made our way one day, I noticed something up on a dune at the beach’s edge. It was a tall tower – built out of masonry blocks, which once had windows – but now just were open frames. I recognized it as one of the structures built between 1946 and 1948, as part of Operation Bumblebee, the U.S. Navy’s secret guided missile testing program. During those years, Topsail Island served as a proving ground for some of the first U.S. missile efforts and as a testing site for the principle of the controlled ramjet engine (the main concept for today’s supersonic flight).
The structure seemed so out of place, there in paradise. As silent as a tomb, it stood there as a reminder of a terrible time for the world – and the terrible fear that people lived under– which required us to develop new instruments of war. The juxtaposition of this ominous abandoned structure with the sunlight, the laughter and the solid feeling of absolute safety spoke to me. A reminder that even in earthly bliss, there can be a specter of evil that clouds the skies.
I got my sister to take a picture – yes, she takes her phone everywhere. I thought I might use it somehow in preparing folks to write about looking up and looking around in Advent. I was right. As I prepared the Advent writing workshop, I noticed something amazing in the printed-out version; something I had not noticed in person, but now became evident upon further study.
Somehow a cross had appeared at the top of the building – a cross! No cross had been built into the tower – it was a trick of the light and the position of the camera. But there it was, nevertheless. I got the message. Even in darkest days, even when evil draws near in paradise, the cross stands out clearer. Even when we don’t see it at first – the cross and all it promises is there.
Look up – look around! Look again! You never know what the Light will bring when we least expect it. You never know when a sign of hope – which is what Advent is all about – is just beyond the next corner.