About seven weeks ago I was given a crazy thought. A gentleman at our church had been going on several cruises and he told me how much he paid for a 3 day cruise, it sounded pretty reasonable. So for some crazy reason I looked up how much a cruise would be and it was even cheaper than he told me. It also happened to be our anniversary weekend.
I told my husband about it and he checked out the website as well. We talked it over for a day or two and really felt this was something we could do. Of course there was extra costs to this deal. We upgraded the room, there are port charges to pay, and tips for the crew. Still we paid a lot less than we would have if the price to start with was higher.
The day of our cruise finally arrived and I was nervous. I don't do well on the water, the rocking of a boat and my stomach do not get along very well. Also I feared the unknown, how did boarding the ship work, what about my luggage, and will I get lost. I prayed and tried not to worry, but the butterflies stuck around.
Getting on board was fairly simple, just a quick security check of bags and waiting in line. Captain Stubing (The Love Boat) wasn't there to greet us, still a staff of smiling faces were. The fancy staircase and huge central area wasn't quite how I pictured it, but it was nice and purple.
Our room was perfect. Plenty of room for the two of us. We explored the ship as we tried to find our way to the place where a ship's tour awaited us. We never found it.
"I feel great," I teasingly said as we hadn't set sail yet.
Finally, we set out to sea. No streamers or family waving us good-bye, just a fun time watching sail into a channel that led us to the Atlantic Ocean.
My hair lost it's battle with the wind. Then I felt it, the motion of the boat. I was not going to make it. "What had I gotten myself into?" I wondered as we'd only just begun.
Another motion sickness pill and we were on our way to eat. Not a good combination, but to my surprise I felt much better after I got my fill of food.
My second problem came when my luggage failed to arrive. We were told to be patient, it should be in our room my eight. Still I continually prayed. After all I had my stuff in there. Luckily, it arrived after dinner. It wasn't until the next morning when I realized my luggage tag was missing.
God continually blessed us throughout our trip. Even when I felt quite nervous with all the natives in the Bahamas who kept wanting to "help" us. It was much better when we could just look and enjoy ourselves on our own.
God does indeed want to rain down His blessings on each of us, and sometimes we may do something completely out of character to experience them.
Never would have thought a cruise was in our budget, but he provided the income for it, kept us well, and even provided gorgeous weather the entire trip. God is a gracious God.
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