Be Careful What You Wish For

"Be careful what you wish for."  So said the Croatian Captain when I told him I wanted to experience some waves.  Little did I know that a typhoon was swirling nearby -- right in the middle of our path from Hawaii to Japan. Wisely, the captain changed our course to go around it. (Semester at Sea has learned a few things since the disastrous storm they encountered off the coast of Alaska years ago.  Google it for video.)  But even though we went around it, we skirted the edge of the typhoon, and that night, we finally got the waves I was hoping for. Twenty foot seas kept us up all night, and we rose and fell as if on a carnival ride.  From time to time, the ship would crash down over the top of a wave, followed by a series of vibrations.  At breakfast the next morning, plates and drinks slid across our outdoor tables. Many of us felt queasy, and I slept it off for a few hours in the afternoon.

Strange things happen at sea.  For instance, we lost January 19th.  Not sure where it went, but we went to bed on Sunday, January 18, and woke up on Tuesday, January 20.  The international dateline seems to be the culprit, but I can't wrap my mind around it.  Another wierd, yet wonderful event at sea -- for the next three nights, we get to set our clocks back one hour.  Three 25-hour days! Things are really getting crazy now.

As you know, the NFL playoffs were last weekend.  My dad knew that we couldn't watch them at sea, and even trying to follow ESPN on the computer wouldn't work with our uber-slow online connection, so he emailed me play-by-play commentary of each of the games in almost real time. We were in the dining room where all the kids of professors and lifelong learners were homeschooling at the time, so I quietly shared the updates with another dad near me. But as the Seattle-Green Bay game heated up, pretty soon we had a whole bunch of people gathered around listening to each update.  When it got down to the last minute, we were sitting on the edge of our seats in the middle of the Pacific waiting to see if Seattle would score... and then waiting to see if GB would tie it up. The room was filled with cheers when it went into overtime!  My dad's going to put all the other tele-type play-by-play commentators right out of business! 

Now I heard that last year a generous parent paid to have the Super Bowl shown on the ship.  Everyone gathered in the Union to watch it together.  I'd love to see that happen this year.  One student in our Shipboard Family elbowed me in the ribs when discussing it.  I think he thinks ought to be that generous parent.  I'd rather just pass a hat and see if we get enough bucks.  After all, the Redskins aren't playing.

Now that the waves are calmer, I'll share some thoughts I have had along the voyage about the seas.  King David once said, "The voice of the Lord is over the waters."  David never went on Semester at Sea, but if he ever did, I'm sure he would hear God's voice out here. Rising and falling with the swells is like being in a giant dance with the Creator leading you.  Like reading a poem written with water and waves instead of words.  

Even the sky gets in on the action.  Yesterday, we saw a strange, beautiful, vertical rainbow.  As David also wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech." God has initiated a divine conversation with us through nature.  He is speaking loud and clear.  I am listening.


Interestingly, one thing never changes at sea. The skies change, the waves change, the colors change, the clouds change, but always, no matter what, the horizon stays the same.  It is a constant in an ever-shifting tableau.  A reminder that God is my unchanging anchor.  My horizon at sea.

5 days till sushi in Japan.