After 40 years of marriage, my wife and I just went on our first ever cruise. Our ship left port from downtown Miami and stopped in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before returning.
Without question, the most pleasant part of our trip was being with Christian friends. We all had a wonderful time! Plus, of course, anyone who has been on a cruise knows how much food is available. That was a close second!
We enjoyed visiting Jamaica, the homeland of one of our church’s deacons, and we enjoyed visiting Grand Cayman, even though were unable to see a couple there who are former members of our church here in America.
But one of the delightful surprises of the cruise was seeing God’s creation on the high seas! The Bible tells us, “Then God said, ‘Let the water swarm with living creatures’…So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water…” (Genesis 1:20-21) On our 4th day at sea, as we headed back toward Miami, somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean Sea going into the Florida Straits, we saw a pod of small (presumably young) dolphins, and then a loggerhead sea turtle. We were able to watch the dolphins for quite some time as they appeared to swim alongside our ship. As for the turtle, I did not know initially what kind of sea turtle it was, but looking it up online the colors were obvious. By its size, it also appeared to be young – although I am no expert.
Certain parts of the cruise we obviously had to pay for, but as for seeing God’s creation on the open sea – it was free, an added blessing from God!
Pastor Jim
