Here’s more great sea life with Sally, the real-life character from the current Guide story, “The Girl God Rescued.”
See bonus photos from the previous installment of The Girl God Rescued here.
See bonus photos from the next installment of The Girl God Rescued here.
Sea creatures live with difficulties on a daily basis, but sometimes they face extreme emergencies. God has equipped them to deal with these times.
I once scared an octopus from its den in the darkness of night. It tried to escape my
dive light, which must have seemed terrifying as it beamed through the water. The
octopus went into action. First it changed color until it matched its
surroundings and almost disappeared from sight. Next it flattened itself
against the reef, pretending not to exist. Then it stuffed itself into a small
crevice, rearranging its soft tissue into a weird shape. (I felt disappointed
that the octopus didn’t shoot out and try to hide in the purple cloud it would
make!)
One
morning I spotted a crab with a purple claw. It sat out in the open, far from
cover. The crab took one look at me and headed across the sand for some old
coral. Those legs scampered at top speed as I watched from above. When near the
shelter of the coral it paused, cast me a glance, then disappeared beneath a
shadowy ledge.
Sometimes signs are placed to warn people of danger. This helps keep people safe. Fish have safe places too. The
“fish pond” on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas is a safe place for young
fish. It’s a pocket of seawater that allows little fish to find a safe place to
grow until they are ready for the outer reef. I enjoy snorkeling in this quiet
place.
Squid
flash colors to another to warn of danger. Scientists think they are actually
“talking” to each other. They must have a lot to “say,” because those colors
flash on and off very fast!
A
flounder starts life as any other fish, with an eye on each side of its face
and a mouth in between. When the flounder is very young, one eye moves over
beside the other. This works well because the flounder will spend life flat
against the sand. God didn’t think it would be good for it to drag one eye
through the sand! The flounder faces
many emergencies. If it’s discovered in a hiding place, the little flat fish
will jet off for a new sandy hideout. It will glance at the enemy, than stare
at the sand. The flounder’s brain tells its skin to change so that it matches
the sand. The flounder is bold because it pries its eyes off the enemy and looks
at the sand that saves it.
Christians
are like that. When our enemy comes around, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus.
The more we look at Him, the more we change to be like Him. He saves us!
As you read in this week’s chapter
of “The Girl God Rescued,” God saved my life when I had pneumonia. I trust Him
to help me through whatever emergencies I might face in the days ahead.
All photos by Sally Streib ( Sally@seansee.net ) and Clyde Thomas and
Reggie Thomas (MomentsInNature.org).
