The kids did Vacation Bible School (VBS) earlier this summer. The theme was "True North" which I believe was centered around Alaska. Anyway, one of the things the kids did every day was talk about "God Sightings," which are all around us. On our trip, I asked the kids occasionally what some God Sightings were that they saw. I was also trying to keep a list myself. I thought I'd share a few of them here:
- Airport adventures: When Megan and I got rebooked on separate flights and I ended up having to watch the kids at the airport for 5 hours, I was preparing myself for a really long and frustrating day. Instead, there was a God Sighting. As I was walking through the terminal, I randomly saw an InterVarsity coworker of mine. Apparently there were a handful of staff who were going to a conference in Dallas. What a fun coincidence! It didn't become a full fledged God Sighting until I saw them a second time a little bit later. Apparently, their retreat center wasn't available to them until 3 so they were hanging around the airport for a few hours. Having extra hands to watch the kids while I got them lunch and ran around the airport trying to get on standby flights was a HUGE blessing. It also meant that the kids could take a break from interacting with one another and demanding my attention, which made everything easier.
- Joshua Tree: Joshua Tree National Forest is one of my most favorite places in the entire world. When I was in the Scouts (Hi, Troop 507!), we took a camping trip to Joshua Tree. Some friends and I climbed up one of the gigantic rocks at Joshua Tree, laid out our sleeping bags and just looked up. On top of us were billions and trillions of stars. It must have been a new moon because there was zero light pollution. It looked like we could see every star in the galaxy. I remember very distinctly thinking to myself, "there must be a God." Being able to take my kids to Joshua Tree, to see them climb the rocks and see the stars, and to share the same awe that I shared was something beautiful. The moon was full so we didn't get to see everything but it was still amazing and absolutely a God Sighting.
- General Sherman and the Giant Trees: We saw a LOT of big trees on our trip. I knew we were going to see some big trees but these things were massive. The God Sighting that struck me the most was the first stop we made in Sequoia National Forest in the Land of 100 Giants. The first tree we saw, by no means the biggest or the oldest, was really cool. I saw that it was 2200 years old, which is when it hit me: this tree was around when Jesus walked the earth. To be in the presence of something that was alive and growing at the same time as Jesus was pretty cool.
We also saw a tree that was actually 3 giant sequoia's fused together at the bottom but growing separately at the top. I pointed out to the kids that I wanted them to be the same way; they can grow their separate ways but they always need to be connected at their base to the family. I don't know if they got the analogy. =0).
- Whale Watching: At one point, JoJo said that he wanted to see a live whale. My sister was super generous and bought us tickets for a whale watching tour. We didn't see any whales but we did see HUNDREDS of dolphins. It was feeding time and they were putting on a show. They were swimming next to the boat, doing jumps, swimming upsidedown (apparently it confuses the fish) and generally being very entertaining. The captain said that he'd never seen a pod that big before. It almost made me forget that I was on a boat. Our last beach day, Megan saw some dolphins off the shore, so that was pretty cool too. God's creation is pretty awesome.
- Boogie boarding: I've never been surfing. It just wasn't something I was into growing up and now that I live in the Midwest, my chances are pretty few and far between. Growing up though, I was definitely into boogie boarding. There was nothing quite like catching a wave just right and riding it all the way to the shore. Our last day on the beach, I decided that it was time to see if could still do it. Usually, on beach days, my job is to make sure that none of the kids get pulled into the ocean. Now that they're older, I have a little more freedom to enjoy the beach myself. I was a little tentative at first, but catching that first wave was a definite God sighting. I was transported back to my childhood and the joy that I had being in the ocean and carried by nature. It was like God was reminding me that I'm still his child and that he wants me to enjoy life. The boogie board sat a little deeper in the water than it used to due to added weight (I ate very well on vacation...) but it still held and I got in a few good rides.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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