Deep Thoughts Over Deep Water

It’s the second full day of a marriage cruise as I write this. My wife is nine stories below me, getting a pedicure or whatever they call what they do to their hands. I’m looking over the Atlantic at the horizon fifteen miles away.

The blue Caribbean water swells into waves three or four feet high and over three miles deep. It’s so open, seemingly empty, and I have no idea what’s under us.

A few thoughts go through my mind, like how I’m glad friends and family are here with us. A few double dates have happened.

One was getting a sneak preview of I Still Believe. It’s the story of Jeremy Camp. His first wife died of cancer just after they married.

It is a rare movie that makes me cry. That one did. We watched it with friends who can identify with it on two different levels. One lost a spouse as a newlywed; the other lost theirs due to cancer. After an appropriate time, they found each other.

A similar scene plays out in the movie. Along with the theme of self-sacrificial love, there was this message: if your story of suffering can change one person, it’s worth it.

That is hard to say when you go through it. I’ve heard your ministry or message can be found in your suffering. These friends I mentioned above lead a GriefShare to help people through their grief.

The principle is to use your pain to help others in similar situations.