Do you remember that God promised first Abraham, then his son Isaac, then his son Jacob that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky? Well, if we go outside here in Arlington, Texas, that would not be so impressive. We can't see that many! Because of the number of years I've lived and perhaps because my grandparents lived in the country near Crawford, Texas, I can remember seeing the mighty display.
On my recent cruise I remembered to go out on my balcony and look up hopefully. I saw only a sprinkling more.
What was I after?
So...do you think I'm "looking for stars in all the wrong places?" I believe that may be the case.
You see, these pictures were taken by my darling friend
Kristin Lewis and her family, the first near Terlingua in Big Bend! The second is in Yosemite National Park. Now be honest--Is anyone else having difficulty picturing me zipped up in that tent?
The miracle is that I've not seen it sooner. Remember when I told you I got off the golf cart at the water taxi? There was a reason for that--an unpleasant one.
I was sitting alone on the second bench seat of the golf cart, headed back to the ship. We stopped at the water taxi dock, and the man on the front seat said to his wife, "Oh, he's so drunk he can't even walk." She replied, "Maybe he's ill." I looked to the left and saw two men who had a young man between them with one of his arms over each of their shoulders." It was true. He could not walk at all.
The man in front of me loudly expressed disgust in some way, and one of the "carriers" began to berate him with the foulest of language. In addition to telling him to "shut his ******* mouth" repeatedly and heatedly, he said, "So who are you, Mr. Perfect?" They were all the while hauling the drunk guy to the back seat of the cart.
Then someone said, "There's another one coming." By that time I had gotten off the cart. Here came another two men hauling another guy between them. So they ask if anyone was sitting on my seat! The guy in front answers that there was a lady sitting there, but he doesn't know where I am. Well, that's because I am off of there, heading for the water taxi.
I guess they were going to lay the second one on my seat. It was still quite a distance back to the ship, and the vocal guy in front of me was still on there, so I can't imagine how that went. The cart driver (for whom I felt very sorry) told me when I got off that "I didn't need to stay on there!" I didn't even look back.
These two drunks were handsome young men. I looked to see if I recognized them on the remainder of the cruise, but I really couldn't remember anything clearly about their appearance. I would never be a good witness in case of an accident. I just kinda blank out.
I assumed it was because I don't stay up until the wee hours that I never saw this kind of behavior. And maybe it has been. But this? It was between noon and 1 o'clock!
I thought of "wasted" as more than a slang term for being intoxicated. Sadly, it's what drunkennes can do to one's life. It took me a while to shake the sadness.
The one good thing that came out of this experience was this photo! Well, and my resolve to pray for these two young men. Even though I don't know who they are, God does.
