EXTRAORDINARY!!!

‘California Grunion’ photo by Eric Whitman CC By 2.0.

A fish out of water?  And that’s not all!  The female California Grunion (See photo above) launches herself out of the water and onto the sand at a very specific time to spawn.  How does she know what time it is?  Scientists only speculate.  But she only does this at night at the time of a full or new moon!
This is when the tide is at its highest. 
                                                                                           
High on the sand, she uses her tail to dig down into the damp sand until only her head is showing!  Of course, then the males show up!  She lays 1600-3,600 eggs in the sand just above the high tide line.  Somehow, she knows that the tide line will not reach her eggs until several days later. If she miscalculated the next high tide would wash away her eggs prematurely!  Her timing is perfect.  She knows that the next high tide won’t come for ten days, just enough time for her eggs to hatch!  This perfectly timed high tide will then wash away the sand and help her babies find the sea!  Her timing is so precise that the California Fish and Wildlife Department makes this statement:  ‘Unlike other fish, grunion come completely out of the water to lay their eggs in the wet sand on the beach. Grunion make these excursions only on particular nights and with such regularity that the time of their arrival on the beach can be predicted a year in advance.’ They even publish a chart for would be fishermen to know when the grunion will come on shore and where.  Public fishing is allowed, but you can only catch fish with your bare hands!  Each ‘fisherman’ is only allowed to catch 30 fish, and a license is required.  This phenomenon can be seen on many beaches in Southern California.

You can view this ‘extraordinary’ event by clicking on the link below, Grunion Run in Southern California.

I call this predictable ‘Grunion Run’ extraordinary.  Wouldn’t you?  If God can make a fish extraordinary, WHY NOT YOU!!!

Jesus is certainly on your side!  The Bible makes it clear that He ‘is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’  Ephesians 3:20-21.

We can think about King David, who a mere shepherd boy became the King of Israel or Joseph who was thrown into a well and sold as a slave by his brothers that ultimately became second only to the pharaoh in power.  Or Saul, who in his zealousness killed Christians only to become Paul the Apostle responsible for writing 13 books of the bible and bringing the Gospel to the gentiles.

Who are some extraordinary people today?

Let’s never forget the late Charley Kirk, ‘an American right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality. He co-founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA in 2012 and served as its executive director until his assassination in 2025!  Wikipedia.

How about ‘ordinary’, extraordinary!  Have you heard of Steve Hartman?  He is a CBS News correspondent that shares moving stories about the extraordinary people he meets ‘ On the Road’!  You can watch his videos on YouTube.  The following are a few of these stories of what he calls extraordinary people in my own words!

‘Kindness 101, the ripple effect of doing good!’
In Geraldine, a small town in Alabama, a pharmacist was minding her own business when a man walked in and asked her a question, “Do any people come in here who can’t afford to pay for their prescriptions?”  She answered with a resounding, YES!  He handed her a $100 dollar bill to help those who couldn’t pay.  He continued to do this regularly.  No one knew who he was, until he died.  His name was Hody Buford, an Air Force veteran and farmer.  His family discovered his giving.  He was not a wealthy man, but rich in kindness!  He was nearly broke having given over $10,000 dollars prior to his death.  When people found out about what he did, it triggered a domino effect of giving, not only in this small town, but all over the U.S.!  A small act of kindness makes a BIG difference.       

I remember Steve sharing a story of a man who was in his 90’s and walked five miles to work every day.  Someone saw him walking, picked him up and took him to work.  This act of kindness exploded, and people began to look for him so they could take him to work.  They would phone each other and ask, ‘where is Bill has anyone seen him.’  So they could find him and take their turn.  A car dealership offered Bill a car, but unfortunately, he was legally blind and couldn’t drive.  So the dealership gave the car to the woman who first picked up Bill and started this act of kindness.

There was a story about a woman who didn’t have a car, so the neighbor took her to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription.  She then began driving other neighbors with similar needs!

Or the children in an elementary school who named their new school after a janitor who was always kind to them.

Or an assistant manager at MacDonalds who loved and supported her young employees to a point that they started calling her ‘Mamma Mac’!

I read a quote on the net that says it all!
‘When you’re helping people, you are participating in the Devine care for humanity!

Do you feel ordinary?  Be kind to someone and be ‘extra ordinary!

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF!