promise-y fish in the Red Sea, Israel

What if you were on a fishing boat on the ocean and suddenly the water’s surface opened its mouth and a scuba diver popped up and said,

“Hey, we’re having a party down here, wanna come?”

Would you go? I mean, if you instantly knew how to scuba and you had the gear?

Sometimes, I feel like I live underwater. Other times I am nearly convinced of it. I love my home under the sea. I swim deep into darkness and I find secrets. Sometimes I meet colorful fish in the midst of their own family gatherings and sometimes I meet grey eels living in loneliness and defensiveness. I look at all of them with curiosity and wonder. I travel with God’s hand leading me. The creases in His hand press against the cracks in mine. The roads of my life blending with every road ever.

raaaaaaaaaaaaar! cried the creepy slithery creature with a tiny alligator/eel head.

I have great chats with huge lobsters, feeling their way around with their massive television antennae. I read books leaned up against firm, but sensitive coral. I float through the Bible with each blink because the glory is palpable and visible and stunning. I pull ancient maps from brass tubes in shipwrecks. I see the red “X” where hope is buried, where treasure waits, and I resolve to pick up where that captain left off. The passage of time, the waiting of the vast treasure, does not diminish my expectation. If I remember how the nightly news reports that particular treasure’s discovery is a lost cause, I am not deterred in my pursuit, but instead inspired. There is a reason we have the phrase “worth fighting for.” It is because we know that for massive victories, there will be a massive fight. It might be a fight won through rest, praise, and trust, but it is still a fight. It might be a fight won by angels cheered on by the hearts of men, but it is still a fight. It might be a fight to drive lame enemies off of something that already belongs to you, but it is still a fight. In fact, the main fight may actually be the first one: believing the thing IS worth fighting for.

the zebra of the underwater zoo and me in the Red Sea

So, fins on, I’m swimming.

And I’m inviting you to the underwater festivities.

In the Caribbean I got to drive the wreckage of a motor boat on a long journey into the oceans of my imagination, where the water is even warmer than the Caribbean; and the fish play musical instruments. skillfully.

P.S. I added new music to the sidebar on my blog’s home page – outrageous hope you can download & sing along to.