Day 1-
So I've begun my journey of walking with the jerry cans for the next 40 days. When I woke up on Thursday morning I turned to the right, and there they were, two bright yellow tanks staring right back at me saying, "Good morning!" Day 1 just happened to fall on the last day of the ministry portion of our missions trip to Ocean City, Maryland, where we preached and shared the good news of Jesus Christ on the boardwalk. Walking around the house with them was difficult, but nothing compared to walking with them for long distances on the boardwalk. Still, that's nothing compared to what so many women do everyday in providing water for their families.
Day 2-
It's time to return home after a week of stepping out in faith and relying completely on God. But before returning home, I wanted to at least touch the sand with my feet, so to the beach we went. Before heading home our team went to have some fun at the boardwalk. It's certainly a different experience walking on the boardwalk with the jerry cans. I have now named the cans Rachel and Leah, after Jacob's wives in the book of Genesis. So I will now refer to them as the "ladies" or the "girls" and I hope no one takes offense to that. I definitely think twice before I decide to walk places and think about how much additional time would be needed to make the trek.
While on the boardwalk sitting on a bench, I heard a gentle whisper saying "come, commme..." I turned around only to see the ocean. Okay, honestly, there was no voice, but I really did want to get to the ocean. So I went for it. I had my target in site and I walked about 40 steps in the sand and had to stop. After about 15 seconds, I picked up the girls and started again. This time after I had to put them down, I beach patrol police guy on a big wheel motorcycle stop me. He asked me if I had a permit. I told him I didn't and he told me I wasn't allowed on the beach. So I apologized and walked back to the boardwalk. When I finally got there he was waiting. Uh-oh, I thought. But he began to tell me where I could get a permit, so I explained to him what I was doing, why I was carrying the girls around, and what I had been doing this week on the boardwalk. He told me he misunderstood my intentions and thought I was soliciting and asking people for money. I told him I just wanted to take a picture by the ocean. He then apologized to me and offered me a ride down to the water. I thanked him and told him if I was going to get down there, I'd have to do it on my own. He suggested using the wooden catwalk to get closer because it would be easier than walking in the sand.
So was I going to try again? I thought this was a good excuse to not kill myself... but hey, how often does one get the opportunity to walk with 80 lbs. and touch the ocean. So again I went.
After many steps and many stops I made it to the ocean. When I got back home and weighed the ladies I realized, I filled them with too much water and they weighed 52 lbs. each. I have made them both go on diets, and I am happy to report that they now weigh the appropriate 40lbs. each.
No comments:
Post a Comment