How cool is it that so often life/God gives us more than we bargained for. If you go to Maui in Hawaii, one of the ‘must sees’ is the, ‘Road to Hana’ and believe me from the picture above that I took last week from one of the 56 bridges, that road is more, way more than Tammy and I bargained for in so many different ways, but before I go into that; take a trip with me down memory lane  to a car purchase, where you were beyond blown away by what you discovered the car you just bought could do. Maybe it was the sheer power, or it could stop on a dime, perhaps it had an amazing accessory for the time like, push button transmission, or a TV in the roof, I can remember the first 8 track player I saw was in a car!!!

How about a vacation, you knew it was going to be amazing, but you had no idea how amazing. Our trip to Hawaii last week certainly fell into that category, but the road to Hana offered such a window to me of seeing, (sorry I don’t know how else to put it but) Jesus, showing off His creative ability. Trees of shapes and designs, barks, colors, flowers, fruits, water falls, mountains, cliffs, oceans, rocks and oh, the danger of it, death was around every corner as often it was one lane and you could see where the road had just fallen to the sea. Tammy got a little car sick, it was raining off and on, the price of gas was $4.27 a gallon and we were running out, yes as I said more than we bargained for in so many ways.

All the ingredients I spoke of in my article earlier this summer 5 Vacation Must Haves, Adventure and Beauty, someone to share it with, road ready vehicle, disconnection, (believe me there is no cell service on that road) and Faith. Yet the one element that gripped me beyond that was, that it was so much more than I bargained for. Tammy and I couldn’t possibly have afforded such a vacation right now, yet my father took us and sharing it with him was a huge part of the ‘Amazing Time’. My father is 86 and his courage to go and play leads me to the second way Jesus showed his Vacation Spirit to me last week.

We visited two different beaches one was right by where we were staying at Maalaea Harbor and the other beach was one near Kapalua shared with the Ritz Carlton. The first one, fairly secluded  we shared with a few native Hawaiians  and their children who played and played and played in the surf in fact they played at least six or seven hours. Essentially the game was along the lines of; they would approach the surf and wait on a wave, then scream at the top of their lungs and try to run away or just give in and play in it, get out then go back and wait on another wave eventually their parents joined in for a bit and went back to rest on the beach but the kids kept it up for hours and hours.

The next day we drove up the coast to the beach shared by the Ritz Carlton and these families were seemingly very different, certainly in the way they dressed, many even came to the water still dressed in dresses and shorts and shoes. Yet as soon as those children begged their way to the water, they shredded their socks and shoes and the exact same ritual began. Some times the parents even joined them after a few minutes fully dressed, while others would come back in a few minutes in their bathing suits and even bathing caps approach the surf and wait on a wave then scream at the top of their lungs. Oh the joy of the parents that joined them in their return to a child like spirit. Personally I just loved seeing Jesus hit them with big or small waves and all the time playing and laughing and screaming and sharing. Yes, way more then any bargained for. Ephesians 3:20-21 played out right before my eyes.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Every morning, Jesus comes to our child like hearts and asks if we would like to come approach the surf where He can reach us, disconnect from cell phones and other distractions take off our masks/shoes and socks and let His waves roll over us, laugh and scream, cry and wonder. There is nothing like playing with your parents in the surf. Oh and by the way, often Jesus sneaks up on us with something we thought was a pretty average purchase but upon exploration we find its way more than we bargained for. Everyday walking with Jesus is living proof of exceedingly abundantly above all I ask or think, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever AMEN.