snorkeling...breathing... and sharks!
Dear Friend,
So I’ve been on the beach for the past couple of days and have gotten to spend some quality time just taking in the sights and sounds that the ocean has for me. One of my favorite verses in the whole bible is the one where it talks about the ocean waves and how they roar!!
One of the things I love the most about visiting the ocean is the chance to get to snorkel. Have you ever been snorkeling before? Do you like snorkeling? I have this love hate relationship with snorkeling. I love snorkeling because I love the ocean for all its beauty, but with that I am also terrified of it.
I love to snorkel because you get to peak into this world that is so calm and quiet. It is very peaceful getting to look at all the fish that seem to be different and special in their own way.
For as long as I have loved the ocean I have been terrified of it as well! See I am scared to death (literally) of sharks! I have this fear that I will be eaten by a shark if I am in the water…so those movies like Deep Blue Sea…Open Water…Jaws…I can’t watch those! No way! Never!
But back to the question about snorkeling…do you like to snorkel???
I always love getting in the water for the first time. It takes me a good 10 minutes just to get up the nerve to walk up to the water…then another 10 just to get in…then I finally can take what could very well be my last step…dun, dun, dun…
I don’t like being one of those guys who walks up to the shore with all his snorkeling gear on…you know those guys who pick up their feet way into the air because they don’t want to trip over their man made fins. So I always wait till I get into the water to put on my flippers! Then you have to put that stuff that has water and soap in it so that your mask doesn’t fog up while you are out there. But this particular process if huge for me because at this point I can’t see if anything is swimming around me and so I race to put on my mask because I want to at least have the dignity to see the shark coming at me! So I hurriedly put on my mask and begin to check my surroundings.
Once I feel confident (I never feel fully confident out in the water) I start to make my way out to the coral reef. But do you ever notice that when you first begin to swim out to your tropical underwater destination all you seem to hear is your breathing? I always stress myself out for those first couple minutes because it sounds like I am running for my life! And so all you hear is these huge deep breaths…breathing in…breathing out…breathing in…breathing out…
And this doesn’t stop until I see the first fish of the day…then my attention changes to the beauty that is around. And I would be lying if I didn’t say that I checked behind me every once in awhile just to make sure that there weren’t any sharks lurking around behind me!
But this breathing that I could hear…it really got to me this time. It is crazy to me how the Holy Spirit causes us to remember things from the past…I have this Irish prayer on my i-pod. I listen to it a lot. This Irish man walk, with his words, through the three members of the Trinity and prays about and to each of them…it is beautiful! Sometimes I just listen…other times I pray along. But there is this one point in the prayer that reads…
Help me now to pray even without words
Help me to pray with my breathing
To breath in of your love and your peace
To breath out of my pain and sadness
To breath in of your cleaning and forgiveness
To breath out of my guilt and impurity
So that in my breathing may my body and soul be at one with you
At harmony with you
At ease with you
May I be still and know that you are God
May I be still and know that you are the Lord who brings healing
Help me to hear your still small voice Lord Jesus
May I now hear your words…peace be still.
As I was watching these fish swim all around…my breathing caught my attention…and then I remembered this prayer…
And from that breath on while I was in the water looking at God’s creativity and beauty…I prayed…even with my breathing…
I think I will remember the sound of my breathing that day for awhile.
The prayer ends with these words…
Glory be to you Father in Heaven,
Glory be to you Lord Jesus,
Glory be to you Holy Spirit,
Amen.
I miss you my friend…hope to see you soon!
heart.soul.mind.
kyle diroberts
So I’ve been on the beach for the past couple of days and have gotten to spend some quality time just taking in the sights and sounds that the ocean has for me. One of my favorite verses in the whole bible is the one where it talks about the ocean waves and how they roar!!
One of the things I love the most about visiting the ocean is the chance to get to snorkel. Have you ever been snorkeling before? Do you like snorkeling? I have this love hate relationship with snorkeling. I love snorkeling because I love the ocean for all its beauty, but with that I am also terrified of it.
I love to snorkel because you get to peak into this world that is so calm and quiet. It is very peaceful getting to look at all the fish that seem to be different and special in their own way.
For as long as I have loved the ocean I have been terrified of it as well! See I am scared to death (literally) of sharks! I have this fear that I will be eaten by a shark if I am in the water…so those movies like Deep Blue Sea…Open Water…Jaws…I can’t watch those! No way! Never!
But back to the question about snorkeling…do you like to snorkel???
I always love getting in the water for the first time. It takes me a good 10 minutes just to get up the nerve to walk up to the water…then another 10 just to get in…then I finally can take what could very well be my last step…dun, dun, dun…
I don’t like being one of those guys who walks up to the shore with all his snorkeling gear on…you know those guys who pick up their feet way into the air because they don’t want to trip over their man made fins. So I always wait till I get into the water to put on my flippers! Then you have to put that stuff that has water and soap in it so that your mask doesn’t fog up while you are out there. But this particular process if huge for me because at this point I can’t see if anything is swimming around me and so I race to put on my mask because I want to at least have the dignity to see the shark coming at me! So I hurriedly put on my mask and begin to check my surroundings.
Once I feel confident (I never feel fully confident out in the water) I start to make my way out to the coral reef. But do you ever notice that when you first begin to swim out to your tropical underwater destination all you seem to hear is your breathing? I always stress myself out for those first couple minutes because it sounds like I am running for my life! And so all you hear is these huge deep breaths…breathing in…breathing out…breathing in…breathing out…
And this doesn’t stop until I see the first fish of the day…then my attention changes to the beauty that is around. And I would be lying if I didn’t say that I checked behind me every once in awhile just to make sure that there weren’t any sharks lurking around behind me!
But this breathing that I could hear…it really got to me this time. It is crazy to me how the Holy Spirit causes us to remember things from the past…I have this Irish prayer on my i-pod. I listen to it a lot. This Irish man walk, with his words, through the three members of the Trinity and prays about and to each of them…it is beautiful! Sometimes I just listen…other times I pray along. But there is this one point in the prayer that reads…
Help me now to pray even without words
Help me to pray with my breathing
To breath in of your love and your peace
To breath out of my pain and sadness
To breath in of your cleaning and forgiveness
To breath out of my guilt and impurity
So that in my breathing may my body and soul be at one with you
At harmony with you
At ease with you
May I be still and know that you are God
May I be still and know that you are the Lord who brings healing
Help me to hear your still small voice Lord Jesus
May I now hear your words…peace be still.
As I was watching these fish swim all around…my breathing caught my attention…and then I remembered this prayer…
And from that breath on while I was in the water looking at God’s creativity and beauty…I prayed…even with my breathing…
I think I will remember the sound of my breathing that day for awhile.
The prayer ends with these words…
Glory be to you Father in Heaven,
Glory be to you Lord Jesus,
Glory be to you Holy Spirit,
Amen.
I miss you my friend…hope to see you soon!
heart.soul.mind.
kyle diroberts
posted by Kyle DiRoberts at 12:49 PM
2 Comments:
wait, theres a water/soap stuff that you can put in your mask so it doesn't get foggy????...I need to get some of that cause as far as I knew spitting in your mask was the 'ol trick that always worked.......
did I just say spit?
eh, don't tell anyone I said that....
I know! I think for a second I got a little sad. I can’t believe all my life no one ever told me about this soapy water! To think...all this time everyone who went snorkeling was swimming in a giant ocean of their spit!Literally!
And yes, you did just say spit!
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