I spent the last week on the high seas, sailing to the Bahamas. We had great weather, especially for the New York area, in February, until our last sea day on the way back.
We woke up to overcast weather, rain, and fog thick enough that I couldn’t decipher where the sea ended, and the sky began when I looked out on the horizon.
All week I was taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. Lots of blues from both the seas and the skies. But somehow, that last day, I just looked out, thinking ‘why should I take a picture of that? That’s no fun to see or look at.’
I thought of how as individuals, we like to show the highlight reel of our lives on social media. We hardly show the not so great things happening.
As I still made sure to have quiet time, as I read through the Psalms, I imagined if King David had only showed us the highlight reel of his life and what that would have done for us. We wouldn’t be able to read of his raw emotions as he ran for his life and begged God to save him from his despair. We might not have read how his decisions cost him the life of his son. There are so many important lessons we would have missed, if we only saw the highlights of his life.
The lesson I’m taking away from this is: sometimes there will lots of sunshine and happiness. Sometimes there will be lots of rain and fog, and you’ll still have to choose how you want to approach life.
Ultimately, we get to choose.
By the way, the friends I was traveling with, chose to enjoy the last day to the maximum. They did many of the activities that could be enjoyed indoors and if you didn’t look out, you wouldn’t even know it was raining.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this time of recharge and rejuvenation. Thank you for the reminder that no matter what is going on in our lives, the choice is still ours of how we will show up.