A Breaching Manta Ray

Well I said I wasn’t going to write in this blog everyday, but here I go with two days in a row again. I just had a lot of really cool things happen to day. First of all I went out Kayaking. I went a really long route and I was in some pretty deep water well…deep relative for the gulf. Most of the gulf is pretty shallow at less than 20 feet. It was particularly quiet then out of nowhere a 3-4 foot manta ray breached about 9 feet just to the upper left of me. Is breech even the right word? First of all, I had no idea manta rays were even in this region, second of all I didn’t know they could fly out the water like that. It must have flown about 6-12 inches off the surface. It completely startled me but it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I always look for dolphins when Im out as they are more common in this area. But think about how many people have ever seen a manta ray fly out of the water. It was a pretty memorable experience. So I found this island I think I mentioned yesterday. I told Jennifer that I called it Rick’s island, but she got jealous. Now it is named Rick’s Beach on Jennifer’s Island at the HSBC Bay, in the sponsor to be named later Gulf. So Im trying to get really fit by the time Jennifer comes out again. Its working, or I should say the kayak is working. I used to be a marathon runner always working on my lower body. Now, its all upper body work. I liken kayak to running for your arms. Its such a peaceful way to exercise too as it is totally mentally rejuvenating. I often find myself screaming out Praises to God even though there is not a soul around to hear or witness them. I made it to the Island and parked my kayak. There was no one there. So I pulled it up the beach and blew up my air mattress. I had my own private island with a nice beach. I had packed a picnic lunch in a Ziploc bag (to stay dry) so I had a picnic on the beach. Then I just relaxed and tried to take a nap, but I was too worked up to get any rest. I was there for about an hour before more people came. I think they were a family, but since I got there first they went to the other side of the small island. Once the women saw me, they quickly covered up with their veils. They were polite and asked me if it was ok that they parked their boat there, which was fine. I stayed until the tide reached my feet then I figured it was time to go. The family greeted me as I headed back to the mainland. The water was really smooth on the way out, but really choppy on the way back. I was drenched. It was about 100 degrees out today, so the water actually felt really nice.

I went out to a movie with Lamond tonight. I mentioned the basketball score last night. They lost a heartbreaker again to Manama on a 3 with 2 seconds left. They had a chance to tie but a half court heave just barely missed. So mostly Lamond and I talked basketball strategy all night. Its interesting to talk to a guy that played against Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Le Bron James. Lamond is still pretty good. He easily is the best player in the league. He’s going to play as long as his body will allow him to play. After that, he’s going to get into coaching and he’ll be an excellent coach when the time comes. They do this weird playoff system. Muharraq won one of the playoffs so they are in a best of 3 against Manama for something called the Cup. Then they are off to Egypt to play in an invitational then back for another championship series. There are a just a lot of playoffs and two titles now that they are trying to shot for.

I appreciate all the wonderful comments/emails about the wedding pics I posted. I think its important that I share the victories with you in hopes that it will encourage you during the dark times. I honestly thought I’d never experience happiness again. But I have. God is truly faithful. I’ve learned and grown so much through this experience. I hope I never go through anything this painful again. Actually the pain has made me even stronger. I’ve already emotionally died, what else can happen to me that is worse? Maybe that is what Paul meant when he said die to self daily. Having survived what seems to be the worst life has to offer has left me with such a strong inner peace and strength I’ve never ever experienced before. But the most important thing the pain did was bring me a renewed intimacy with God. Again I understand Paul “Everything that was lost was gain.” Im seeing things pretty clearly right now.