Watching Sea Gulls | Eastern North Carolina Now

    As tired as I was last night, this morning could well be called a resurrection! It feels great to be alive and have a purpose other than filling a chair or bed in a nursing home!

    On a Sunday morning my thoughts are drawn to Jesus' Resurrection and Sea Gull watching.

    Sea Gulls are interesting creatures. They remind me of Baptists (and other church folks) in many ways. We have 2 on our little beach eating the dead remains of some fish which is unidentifiable now. It smells like---well, dead fish!!! Yet, they are fussing and fighting over the carcass. It reminds me of some church business meetings I have tried to moderate.

    This corner of NC is strange for its absence of Baptist Churches. Most places in the South they say "the Baptists and Kudzu are taking over." Here, there are as many Church of Christ congregations as other places. Their school for preachers is at Elizabeth City and the students have spread out to little congregations who can only afford a student pastor. They have the same problems as do Baptists. They "multiply by dividing" as they get mad and start new churches!
Sea Gull stripping a carcass: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage
    The problem is a "people problem." Given a group worshiping together and growing, it is just a matter of time before somebody gets mad at somebody else in the group. Most times it has to do

    more with social pecking order than theology. It was true when you read the Bible that from early Jews to followers of Christ, a short time together created a lifetime fight.

    Jesus was about people loving, forgiving and getting along! His adage was "bear one another's burdens."

    In gull land and church land, there is much noise. More of it has to do with territory fighting, rather than the glory of flight! One of the most graceful and beautiful soaring birds is a seagull. They can fly many miles over open water to reach a destination. They get there far faster than a fish swimming. They see from above into the water and there is always a meal below!

    How wonderful!!!

    When they focus their activity on a dead and rotting piece of flesh on the beach, a fight breaks out every time.

    Give some thought to the nature of getting along vs. The tendency to fuss and fight. Life is so much more pleasant when the birds fly together and soar over pecking out each other's feathers so that no one can fly eventually.