Kauai!

We’ve just returned from “the best vacation we’ve ever had!” as Larry puts it. Our trip to Kauai provided an amazing ten days away from normal routines, seeing another part of God’s creation we’d never experienced. The best part for Larry was savoring his coffee each morning with the ocean breezes. I reveled in the freedom to “not have to” do anything, to read from dawn to dusk, or eat without preparation messes.

Fortunately our bodies adjusted quickly to the different time zones and we rose and slept on regular schedules. Larry awakened about 6:30, and I laid in bed longer, thinking, praying, focusing with a game or two of Sudoku. Both of us had novels we’d start and stop, depending on what the other wanted.

Looking across the lanai, we were mesmerized by ocean waves, watching the roll and foam of surf, kite surfers, boogie boarders, or full-board surfers. It’s amazing to watch wave power, realizing such a small detail to the Creator is a life-or-death topic for men.

We peered into a magnificent and color riddled Waimea Canyon called “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific” that drops 4100 feet, witnessing vibrant oranges, greens, blacks and browns. We watched cliff-nesting birds glide on wind currents. These small birds were safe here, away from man and beast, yet vulnerable outside this breathtaking chasm, just as we are vulnerable in their habitat.

Larry’s lifetime dream has been snorkeling in the tropical reef, and he netted 5 days. He was ecstatic at the colorful array of fish. I have tremendous water anxiety, but we eventually found a protected pool and availed the low tides to share viewing chubs and convict tangos. Too many people in the pond eventually drove us out, but not before Larry could swim quietly alongside a sea turtle.

Kilueau lighthouse guards the northeastern coast, situated in another spectacular environment. While Larry ooh-ed and ah-ed at the five or six bird varieties soaring between cliffs, barrier island, and lighthouse, I stared into surf bouncing off ocean caves as birds laced the blues of water and sky.

And oh! The fruit! Coconut milk is so lightly sweet it’s not sickening, like I expected. The farmers’ market vender cracked it open with a machete! And the coconut inside peeled out into my spool like a creamy pudding….. mmmmmmmm! Papaya was a sweet treat I‘ve never sampled before – I’m not sure whether it’s available here or not. Amazingly, Hawaii imports lots of their fruit because it’s become too expensive to grow it commercially. Imagine that!

Leisurely dress and schedule make Kauai a paradise haven. What we wanted and needed was a place to retreat and survey our forces for handling life. Much as we loved it, we realized the permanent “Hawaii” setting isn’t where God wants us. We missed our relationships with their challenges. We missed routine despite its need for balance. I missed my kitchen and creative messes.

God’s presence followed us to Kauai, directing our desperations. Larry must now tackle important research, two vital manuscripts, and a professional meeting, all in July. I must face remodeling dust more places than I thought possible, issues I can’t see my way through, and everyday challenges. Ha! What a misconception that life gets easier when current problems pass.
We were each reading growth books. As we sipped and read each morning, we’d share insights relating to our real-life challenges, amazed how similar our conclusions and applications were. God was showing us gently, consistently, that the only answers come in deepening relationship, deepening our dependence. My book is pointing to cutting out the part of modern mentality that emphasizes personal control, all the while acknowledging that no way can I face my giants in my own strength. Where modern thinking suggests we just grip tighter, the Creator and creation teach the fluidity in holding loosely. Outcomes are scary to us only because they suggest surrendering control. Surrender simply means I trust someone bigger than myself.