Absolutely Beautiful

When we travel we often only see the "best" parts of our destination. I know that there are not-so-appealing parts of every city, but all I could think as we rode in our Uber to our hotel was

absolutely beautiful.

Maybe my excitement was to blame. It was almost as if I had rose-coloured glasses on during that car ride. 

At first, we had trouble finding our Uber driver  at the airport. She was annoyed that I wasn't exactly where I said I'd be. No, "hi, how are you?" or "where are you guys from?"

And that's when I realized... are friendly Uber drivers only a Canadian thing??

She stuck her AirPod in her ear and made a phone call. Then another. And another. It made me wish I'd stuck with Spanish throughout university so I could know if she was talking about us. 

But none of that dampened my outlook. I was finally on vacation and everything was beautiful. 

I'd never been to Miami before. I marvelled at the architecture. So much pink! 

I'd forgotten what real palm trees looked like. My eyes couldn't keep up while we zoomed past all the sights. 

When we got to our hotel, I was in awe. All I knew when I booked it online was that it was newly renovated and in historic building, but I didn't know it would be this beautiful. Marble floors, stained glass windows, chandeliers, a grand staircase. It felt like I had just walked onto a movie set. Magical!

-

Hundreds of people were waiting around with their luggage and impatient demeanours. They had all just gotten off the ship. I was glad to be going in the opposite direction - straight into the cruise terminal.

I couldn't wait to read. Part of why my backpack was so heavy is because I packed three books:

one about a story, one about spiritual growth, and one about marketing strategy. 

I never ended up touching the marketing book my whole trip. I didn't want to prematurely set my brain into 'work mode'. So I pulled out the spiritual growth one: Radical.

I wondered if it was inappropriate to be reading a book with the word "Radical" on it in America. I don't know what the buzz words are these days but I worried that "radical" would be too politically charged. So I tried to hide the front cover and keep the back cover visible: "What is Jesus worth to you?" I thought that sounded more American-friendly. I'm sure the nominal Christians would appreciate the book.

Side story.

On the cruise, I was in the elevator holding Radical in my hand. A mom, a millennial daughter and her grandparents got in the elevator with me. 

"David Platt," the grandpa read off of my book cover. 

"Hey, that's your father!" He looked a his wife, the grandma.

"Yeah, that's great grandpa's name!" the millennial said.

"Oh yes. David Platt is my father," grandma said.

It took me a while to realize that David Platt is probably a more common name than I'd thought, because the writer of this book was at least 30 years younger than this grandma in the elevator.

"I didn't know your father wrote a book!" grandpa joked.

"What is the book about?" grandma asked.

"Oh it talks about what it means to follow Jesus in a world and culture that doesn't," is all I could think to say.

The millennial said, "Oh that's perfect. We're Jewish!"

 I smiled my tight-lipped Canadian smile (you know the one) until I got to my floor.

-

After lugging our bags with us up to the 16th floor buffet, we found a seat right next to the window. The water was so blue. I stared out the window in disbelief.

It felt like I finally had permission to breathe again, like I could detach myself from what I left behind at home. Normally, that would make me feel extremely guilty. But what choice did I have? The moment I stepped onto that ship, I was saying goodbye to familiar land and onto an ocean of unknown.

Or as Jason Mraz calls it, an ocean of diarrhea (can you name that song?). 

For seven days, I'd be stuck on a ship which was built for enjoyment, for fun. And I paid to be on it so I wasn't going to let anxiety ruin my trip.

Woah. I'm on a freakin' cruise!! I don't know what's ahead and that's okay. I'll ride the waves because that's all I'll be able to do. 

My eyes started to fill with tears. I tried to hold it in because I was sitting alone and didn't want to draw any attention. I was overwhelmed with thanksgiving, so much thanksgiving.

As I write this, I have goosebumps because I remember... it felt like bliss. 

A taste of heaven. Of relief. Of abounding gratitude. It's that feeling of home in a completely foreign environment. 

It wasn't so much about the cruise anymore, or the food, or the ocean. It was the peace I'd been longing for since January 1st. The assurance, the other side of chaos. I was there. A much-needed reminder that God was with me just like he always promised he'd be.