An Albino Alligator...

Joey and I took the twins to the Georgia Aquarium on Tuesday for their birthday. We are planning a little family/friend party for them Saturday (their actual birthday) but we wanted to do something special with just the two of them. And so off to the aquarium we went... We had a wonderful time. My heart was so full of joy as I watched the wonder and amazement dance in those 4 little eyes. Everything was new; they were completely in the moment...nothing crowding their thoughts. They soaked in God's creation like sunbathers.

One of the first tanks we came to had an albino alligator in it. He was positioned in such a way that his body was almost pressed against the glass. He seemed to hang in the water with his head resting perfectly at the top. Lilly, who was more than intrigued, pressed her little nose right up to the glass so that she and this creature were eye to eye. With my eyes on this stare-down, I listened to the aquarium guide tell us about the rarity of this creature--how he was born with no pigment in his skin, leaving him completely vulnerable to the world. If left in the wild, this alligator would be defenseless--prey to the sun or other creatures. Completely vulnerable to the world... Oh, how I've been like an albino alligator in the wild--my life hanging in the world, feeling utterly defenseless to things that wait to devour me. It's a scary, colorless place to be--a place without focus, without hope, without direction. But, like the alligator with his pure white head resting peacefully at the top of the water, I am learning that I am never without FOCUS, HOPE, DIRECTION. Although my body--my life--must linger in this world, I continue to rest my head--my heart--with the One who is my defense.

Thank you God for albino alligators...