Faith Words: Traveling

It's difficult to believe that it's been almost four weeks since we left on our fall trip and more than two weeks since we returned.  And what a trip it was!  We traveled to places we'd never been to before and experienced new things along the way.

The sights!  Imagine sand dunes along the seashore two stories tall and a snow-capped mountain in a neighboring state visible from nearly 100 miles away.  We watched swirling waters caught in a reversing tide in one location and that same tide leaving fishing boats high and dry at low tide causing the water to retreat and reveal the ocean floor with its hidden treasures of smooth stones and sea glass. On another rocky shore guarded by a stately white lighthouse, the powerful waves could drench the sunlit rocks without warning and sweep the unwary out to sea. A quiet hillside cemetery served as the final resting place for townsfolk as well as strangers who'd been victims of the tragic sinking of the Titanic.  And the russet, gold and red leaves of fall danced in the wind and created a patchwork quilt of majestic color against the backdrop of evergreen trees and deep blue-gray waters.

The food!  In Massachusetts, we ate raw oysters and seafood chowder.  In Maine, steamed lobster and mussels.  In New Brunswick, more chowder and buttery biscuits that melted in your mouth.  On board the cruise ship, we continued our culinary experiment with escargot, roast garlic and lamb.

The people!  Most interesting of all were the people. Their accents were as foreign to us as I'm sure ours were to them.  But the hospitality and kindness they showed us made us feel at home.  A middle-aged couple bought an old motel five years ago and turned it into a clean and comfortable haven for travelers.  Tour guides shared their wealth of knowledge about their hometowns with pride and friendliness.  Hotel and restaurant staff, shuttle and cab drivers, cruise room attendants, dining room servers and crew - all went beyond the mere duties of their jobs to extend helpful and thoughtful service.

And of course, our fellow travelers.  We met people from all over.  A group from Germany smiled politely and shared their breakfast table with two hungry Texans, even though we couldn't share conversation.  Our hotel shuttle was filled with folks from California who had family connections in Abilene  The older couple from Boston in the stateroom next door gave us sightseeing and dining advice.

But in all our travels this trip, one thing was always with us.  The sea.  The endless sea, constantly moving, shaping the lives of everyone and everything it touched. Sometimes calm, often ferocious, the sea relentlessly rolls on.  The waves rushed to the shore and then quickly withdrew, washing the footprints from the sand as if we were never there.  As large as our ship was, the sea bounced us along, aided by the equally active wind, rocking our ship first this way, then that.  The sea is alive and active, never still, but somehow peaceful and amazing.

God's hand was visible in all we did and saw.  It is His hand that shapes the dunes, directs the tides and paints the fall leaves.  He creates the incredible variety of foods we tasted.  His Spirit motivates complete strangers to smile at each other and offer blessings and kind words. And surely, He choreographs the ballet of the sea as it gracefully and powerfully dances its way around the globe.

Now, if I could just get a little rest...

Weary but filled to overflowing,

Patrice

Ephesians 4:4,6 (NIV)

There is ... one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.