Are You Like a Lighthouse?



Heceta Head lighthouse before sunset in all her beauty!!

My husband and I went on an anniversary trip to the Oregon Coast. See my previous post   My Heceta Vacation. 

I was mesmerized by the deep symbolism and parallel that lighthouses have to motherhood. So much, that I couldn't stop thinking about it!   Here are a few thoughts from inside my head....

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Lighthouses stand on the shores and coasts of our world, and their purpose is timeless and constant.  They know who they are there and why they are on this planet. 

They are on the shores as leaders, who lead with strength, not uncertainty, and they are a guide to ships out at sea, trying to get to shore safely.



Their light shines 24/7 consistently through calm still waters, or through turbulent storms.  





Heceta Head Lighthouse

See the symbolism?!

In my lighthouse touring...(if you want to call it that)...I learned a lot! I was like a sponge soaking up all the history, work, and duties of the lighthouses and the light house keepers. and busy applying it to my role as mother. 

• The ocean is so powerful in itself. I compare that to the world around us.  The lighthouse keepers have no control over what the sea does.  We have no control over what the world does. or other people do for that matter.  We have to stand strong in who we are and what our purpose is. We just have to be ready to weather the storms that come. We can never leave our post as mother.

• 
  Every lighthouse emits light from  lamps and lenses that are prism like, and used as an  aid for navigation.  Do you see the symbolism to motherhood? The lighthouse keepers main job is to make sure that lighthouse light NEVER goes out.  In the early 1900s and before, that meant carrying a container of oil (usually whale oil) up the spiral staircase to the very top. 
  
  
  
  During a storm, the wind can blow as high as 100 mph and rocks sometimes fly up and break the glass of the lighthouse light and windows.
  
  
  
     

• It was the job of the lighthouse worker to climb up, during the storm and repair the glass immediately.  The lighthouse light had to be working at all times so as to be a navigational aid, especially during storms.  The lighthouse keepers sacrificed a lot to keep the light going 24/7. 
• Lighthouses come in all heights.  The reason that some are tall and some are shorter has everything to do with their purpose and nothing to do with the designer.  Every lighthouse light must be at the height of the horizon as each one spans the distance of 21 miles (at least where we were in Oregon).  The 21 miles in the distance where the earth bends and that is as far as each lighthouse light will shine.  Interesting information.   A lot of technology and math equations have gone into making each lighthouse an effective guide and light to those trying to navigate the ocean. Sometimes a lot of thinking and prayer need to go into making sure our efforts as mothers has the farthest reaching effects upon our children.
  
   
• Along the coasts of the world, there is a network of lighthouses that work together. Each lighthouse has its own Morris code of blinking lights that is specific to that lighthouse. The ships know where they are, when they see the different patterns of light.  I really loved this information and once again made me think of a network of mothers we all have in our lives from our own mothers, to mother-in-laws, to even strong wise women who in our network of friends in our lives. All these women make a strong united front in strengthening those around us.   

 

Are YOU like a lighthouse?





My Heceta Vacation

Taken near the Heceta Head Lighthouse,  Newport, Oregon

taken near the Heceta Head Lighthouse

Sometime in early April, my husband and I took a trip up to the Oregon Coast. It was an early 25th Anniversary trip.  We had been there once before and completely fell in love with the Heceta Head Lighthouse and coast.  When we arrived there, we had this great reassuring sense of relief that our dream location was indeed still as beautiful and dreamy as it was last time we came. 

taken near the Heceta Head Lighthouse

taken near the Heceta Head Lighthouse

We had these  moments of.....complete bliss,    joy, and laughter as we walked along the rocky shore, listened to the waves crashing and splashing and spurting against all the rocks as well as watched each wave come cascading onto the shore.  It was mesmerizing to say the least!

taken near the Heceta Head Lighthouse

I stood there for a while just watching it all happen. .  It was a nice get-away from my normal life, and to just get lost in this part of the earth that I never get to seThe beauty of it all overwhelmed me and I felt so close to God and could feel His presence and power in the whole scenee.

The even better news?  We got to spend the night there!!  Not on the beach, but in the cute little bed and breakfast perched on an elevated hill just above the crashing ocean and cascading waves.  The mere SOUND of the ocean in action is enough to completely hypnotize me.

 We sat on the wrap-around porches, wrapped up in blankets until way past our bedtime, just listening and watching the ocean.




The Bed and Breakfast was the old assistant lighthouse keeper's home. The light keeper's home which used to sit to the side of this one, has been destroyed. The houses looked almost identical. 

So this home has 6 bedrooms, and you feel you are back in time when you stay here.  It was a Wednesday night in April, and it was completely booked.  We shared it with 5 other couples from all parts of the country and all different professions and walks of life.

In the morning at 8:30 am sharp we gathered in the dining room for a very elegant and formal 7 coarse breakfast.  We sat around the dining room table as the server would bring out one coarse at a time and describe to us what we were eating.  Each coarse was rather small, so although it was a 7 coarse meal, we were not stuffed, but were comfortable. 

The fun part was getting to know all the other guests.  It was very interesting as all the couples came from stalwart marriages of many years. Our 25 years of marriage was nothing on some of them.  It was great to be around other great people and stalwart strong marriages from all other religions. 

As we sat ,the conversation eventually turned to important principles for strong families.  Another couple began talking about how important it is as families to gather around each day and eat family dinner together.   We talked about how this is a tradition that is going away because families are so busy now, and how simply eating meals together, at a table does so much for the unity and strength of a family. I loved this in so many ways!

My husband and I joined in the conversation of coarse, and left this experience feeling so much hope that there are so many strong marriages and strong families across this country who believe in the same things we believe in to preserve and keep our families strong.

There are so many symbols of God and motherhood, in the ocean and lighthouses.


If you have never taken a vacation to the Oregon Coast...it is worth the trip!!

Heceta Head Lighthouse in all her beauty!