Looking back on our cruise, there were a couple of things that struck me. The first was the unbelievable privilege of being a father. I hadn’t really thought about it at the time, but I scheduled the trip for the week after Father’s Day. So, as it turned out, I had a whole week of Father’s Day. It was really nice being able to spend a week with my wife and adult children. The relationship is different than it was when they were growing up. Now, it’s more of a friend to friend thing, not quite peers, but not quite parent/child either. God has blessed Jan and me with two great kids and it was fun to spend a week traveling together. It may well have been the last trip as a family for a long time. Jennie is moving to Los Angeles on Monday, and Josh will be studying overseas next summer and will probably move elsewhere in the country after he graduates.
The other thing that I thought about was the incredible diversity of God’s creation. I like to people watch, and there was ample opportunity to enjoy that on the trip. There was an amazing variety of individual persons, all made in the image of the Creator. Seeing them gave me a greater appreciation of the fact that we really are not all that different. Each of us is a creation of the Sovereign God and we each are in need of God’s grace. None of us has any reason to think we are any better than anyone else.
We also saw a wide array of plants and animals that showed God’s creativity and love of beauty. One of the ways I relate to the Father is through nature, so I thoroughly enjoyed being out in Creation.
Not only was the trip a nice getaway, but it also drew me closer to my Father. Imagine that.
Too want some pictures from your family trip.