No Whales Whale Watch

In February, our family took a trip to California to help celebrate my Aunt's 90th Birthday! Congratulations Aunt Barbara! While we were there, we visited 2 National Parks that we had not yet seen: Joshua Tree and the Channel Islands. Wow! Our National Parks truly are a national treasure!

One of the great draws to visiting the Channel Islands National Park was the possibility of going whale watching! Of course, you had me at "whale!" From the moment we booked our whale watching excursion, I was bubbling over with excitement!

My expectations were high as we boarded the boat and headed out of the harbor. We all gazed at the open ocean and waited... and waited... and waited. No whales. Our guide had told us that whale sightings had been sparse this season, but that we would still set out with hope.

We waited... and waited... and waited some more. No whales. This was rapidly turning into a "No Whales Whale Watch" excursion.

As we finished up our outing without seeing any whales, I was trying hard not to sigh with disappointment. It had been a lovely afternoon... just not what I had been expecting.

As I sat on the bench harumphing and boohooing about the fact that we hadn't seen any whales, I got a little inner Spirit nudge. Well, actually it was a bit more of a Spirit kick in the pants that went something like this,

"Sharon, you were so focused on the one thing you thought you wanted to experience, that you missed out on the blessing of all things that you actually did experience. You may not have seen the whales, but the water was beautiful and the sun was brilliant. You saw sea lions, pelicans and lots and lots of dolphins. Beauty isn't always found where you expect it. Open your eyes to the beauty of my presence in the unexpected."

This No Whales Whale Watch has become a powerful reminder to hold my expectations loosely and keep my eyes open to the sacred surprise of God's presence in unexpected places.

When I began attending the weekly Women's Spirituality Group at a local prison years ago, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. However, I must confess that I did not expect to encounter such profound and sacred beauty behind the bars. God's presence abounds in the beautiful ways these women care for each other with such profound compassion, wisdom, and grace during challenging times.

How many other times have my preconceived expectations blinded me to the beauty of God's presence in unexpected places? How many times have I missed the ocean for the whales?

Have you had any "No Whales Whale Watch" moments when you may have missed God's presence that was right there with you all along? I would hazard a guess that we probably all have at one time or another. So, I share these words of prayer that have been meaningful to me and may also be meaningful to you as well...

God of beautiful blessings and sacred surprises,

open my eyes to see Your beauty and

open my heart to feel Your presence

even when there are no whales.

Amen.