Sid and I recently returned from a cruise which included visits to some amazing places – Ephesus where we walked through Mary’s house and on the actual streets where Paul preached, not to mention the Great Synagogue of Rome and the Barcelona Jewish Ghetto. The days were full, enjoyable, educational, uplifting, relaxing . . .

Yet as the cruise neared its end, thoughts of the many connections in my life that are land-ho began to enter my consciousness. My neck and shoulders began to feel strained. My sleep was disturbed, my thoughts troubling about all that would be waiting undone on my to-do list upon my return. Sid has recently teased me that my life’s motto used to be “Why live one life when you can live two?” to his updated version of “Why live one life when you can live five?”. He’s not too far off base with that thought, but I love all that I do and the many connections with people that I have as a result of such a full life.

On the last couple days of the cruise, however, as the approaching reality of all that would need to be done inescapably crept into my mind, new and more troubling thoughts came as well – “I can’t do all of this. Maybe when I was younger but this is just too much. It’s affecting my health. This amount of involvement is not realistic.” The voice in my head kept saying, “You can’t do it.”

When that voice of discouragement would not go away, I knew something was not right, and it wasn’t the amount of interactions and relationships that I love to be in my life. For when I said, “God, what am I to do?” there was no doubt of the answer.

I IMMEDIATELY felt calm. Immediately! It was as if I had been washed clean, literally, of darkness, doubt, worry, fear. I felt light as a feather! None of the facts had changed. All that had changed was the vivid, powerful reminder that God’s got this! He puts us where we are to be, guides us in what we are to do, gives us all we need to do His Will.

In my travels I had forgotten the most important part of every day – to start with Him at the helm of that cruise ship, not the captain, not the awaiting amazing food and fun, not the incredible excursions, but Him, which is my usual, dedicated routine when not traveling. On the ship I was not able to hear the Daily Davar due to the WiFi challenges, and I even had trouble reading Scripture for the same reason. Without the discipline of my normal morning routine through verbalized gratitude, prayer, Bible study, and Messianic Jewish music, my relationship with Him lacked intention and structure. Yes, I prayed but not in the disciplined ways I was used to doing nor with dependable Scripture access.

What an overwhelming reminder of a truth I know but had not been living – no matter where we are we must never forget to awake each morning thanking God for our first breath and stay in that space as much as possible throughout the day. Keeping an attitude of gratitude makes His Presence palpable and was not too difficult given the overwhelming beauty of all that we saw and did.

What became challenging was remembering to connect all of that to Him in the many ways that build on that truth, and so, keep Him in our consciousness front and center throughout the day. So, at sea on that cruise, I truly was adrift. I was not deeply resting in the arms of the true Captain of the ship.

I learned how easy it is to lose our strong foundation of feeling His Presence when we don’t have the tools nor make the time for Him that we have made part of our daily routine. It’s like trying to brush your teeth without a toothbrush, or lighting a light if unplugged from the source of energy. We need daily Scripture study and structured prayer. We also need our faith community. We need all the help we can get in all the ways available to help us keep God front and center as much as possible.

When we lose the intimate reminders of His Presence, we lose our way. Although He is intimately and infinitely with us, we need to do our part to connect to Him, to complete the relationship for it is intended as a relationship of love between God and us, tangibly felt through Yeshua and the Ruach.

That reminder, to keep Him foremost, in the powerful way it was given to me, was by far the most important “souvenir”, which literally in French means “remembrance” or “memory”.  I am reinspired, as are we all, to remember to do our part to maintain and grow this greatest of all love stories – our Creator’s love of each of us and us of Him. For if we do so, we truly will have a “Bon Voyage”, a good journey, may I say, the greatest ever.

Shabbat shalom.

Diane