I've been home a month now, and have struggled as to how to tell this piece of our week succinctly (I have trouble telling anything succinctly, she said with a smile), but here goes:
Our week at the Pink Shell Resort and Hotel was wonderful. Amy and I laughed together and cried together. We celebrated together and we ached together. Mostly, we relaxed beachside or poolside. One of the things we liked about the Pink Shell was that everything we needed was there...we wouldn't need to leave the resort if we didn't want to. Food, drink, ocean, pool, all our needs were covered. They even had paddleboards and kayaks that were free of charge for the guests, and jet skis for a fee. (And the guys who operated the water sport stand called us "girls"...great for our egos) On our first day we took the kayak out, testing the waters. It was a lot of work! But fun!
On the morning of the second day before we even went to breakfast, Amy saw some dolphins in the water just off shore. We went to breakfast and sat on the 2nd floor outside patio, and still we watched the dolphins. As we finished up (our deluxe, gourmet made-to-order omelets...fantastic) Amy suggested we take the kayaks out to see if we could see the dolphins up close. The kayak stand opened at 9. Quickly we donned our suits, slathered on a bit of sunscreen, and headed for the water, arriving just as they opened. But as we looked offshore we noted that the dolphins were gone. Bummer. We took the kayak anyway, hopeful.
This time, unlike the day before when we paddled constantly, we paddled some and drifted some, frequently drifting past the boundary markers for where we were allowed to take the kayak. Then we'd paddle back in. Sometimes we floated, sometimes we paddled. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we were silent. Amy put her feet in the water over the bow (do kayaks have bows?). We were at peace. For about an hour we were like this. And it was good. There were few people on the beach, so we weren't worried that we should bring the kayak in and give someone else a go. But we had been out a long while, so we decided to go once more to the other side of the boundary before we headed in.
We got to the other side and paddled and drifted some more. Again we found ourselves outside the boundaries. And so we began to paddle back. And then we saw them. First one dolphin's fin emerged, then another. Not too far away. They were playing. Or making little dolphin babies. We watched, enthralled, so close. (At this time probably 20-30 yards away). They moved, and we paddled closer. Then rested and watched, amazed. Then moved some more and paddled some more. We were thrilled!
I have to break away from the story for a minute to give you some background. Four years ago Amy and I went on a mission trip to Kenya. It was a fabulous trip, and together with our team we saw God work in some amazing ways. When the mission was done, on our last day in Kenya, we went on a safari where we saw wildlife in abundance: rhinos and dik dik, zebras, giraffes, water buffalo (or cape buffalo...I can't remember which), monkeys (including the one that bit our friend Terry), and birds of varieties too numerous to count. But we hadn't seen any lions, and the safari was almost over. And Amy quietly prayed, "Please God, let us see a lion. Two would be amazing. Three would be abundance." No sooner was the prayer out of her mouth than we went around a bend in the road, and happened upon a lion. No...two. Wait...There are three of them. Juvenile males. Brothers not yet three years old when they would no longer be found together. And our driver pulled close, probably within 20-30 yards. Maybe closer. We watched, amazed. Breathless. Blessed.
Back to my story. We watched those dolphins playing just off our bow. They would disappear underwater and then re-emerge. And then there were three. Abundance. We were silent. I was in tears. God is so good. No one on shore even seemed to notice that there were dolphins among us. As if God was showing off, just for us, to remind us of his abundant blessings.
We kayaked in the midst of those dolphins for at least 20 minutes. At one point they emerged from the water beach-side less than 10 yards from us, then dived back under water, underneath our kayak, and emerged on the other side.
The dolphins swam off, leaving us in peace. We saw another in the distance, and paddled and floated some more before heading in. But not before realizing that God is abundance. And he has an overwhelming love for us.
I'm not going to lie...this year has been wretched. And while I have known that God has not abandoned me, I have at times wondered why he was withholding the good I know it is in his power to impart. Clearly, his ways are not my ways...And his plan is far more than all I can ask or imagine. But on this day, I found my heart "singing" this song of David:
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
(Or dolphin's) (God didn't write that last part...I did)
Ps. 103:1-5
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