Cruising Through Life-A Metaphor
It occured to me on my morning walk around the track on board ship, that this cruise is like my life. It began with excitement and anticipation. Everything about it was new and unfamiliar. It was a learning experience and the ship itself was the world to explore. By the first port of call, I had already settled into a routine, and by the second, and last, it was clear the remainder of the experience would be time spent on board. Like retirement, the days at sea are an adjustment. But something worked on this cruise that doesn't always work as well in life. The family grew even closer.
We set out this week with the goal of building lasting memories with and for our grandsons. While we certainly did that, we also had a great deal of fun, faced issues together as a family, and we made decisions on how we would spend our time without being selfish.
While there were many opportunities to go off on my own to explore or indulge myself in everything from the onboard casino to adult volleyball in the pool, I spent a great deal of time with my grandsons, at their request. It was wonderful.
Each morning, before they rose, I had time to go for my walk, grab some coffee and write. Breakfast, like all meals, we had together, and by Wednesday, we had established a routine, with dinnertime being the most fun.
Tyler and Matthew encouraged me to join them in some things I might not have done on my own, like Flow Rider lessons and snorkling. I even did the zip line, which I might have tried anyway.
As we headed back from the islands to our home port, I reflected on the journey and realized the final day represented old age. I could have felt sad that the cruise was coming to an end, but I wasn't. I was at peace with that, and was actually looking forward to that last dinner together in the main dining room, with the wait staff that had come to know us by name. Imagine coming to end of one's life with such joy and fulfillment.
I had always pictured the last meal Jesus had with his friends as a sad time, but what if it was a lot like our last dinner onboard our cruise ship? Well, maybe it is too far fetched to imagine. After all, the metaphor of the cruise as my life is hard enough to grasp. Extending to an analogy of the final hours for Jesus may be one step too far, but it does give me reason to pause and reflect.
What does it all mean?
I think the message for me is to remember the hours are not mine. Each is a gift, and each comes with myriad opportunities. I can let the next one slip by, or I can pretend I am on a cruise and don't want to miss a single second. That works for me. Oh, and as for the last hours of Jesus' life, just think of how he chose to spend them, and with whom. No one he loved was left out, not even Judas.
