Power and Creativity
posted in God-sightings |I have been blessed with many wonderful experiences (dancing in the Super Bowl, swimming with dolphin in Tahiti, spending the summer in the former Yugoslavia and others) and I am anticipating many more. During my recent trip back to California I was given another one of these extraordinary experiences.
One of my favorite activities in California is dolphin and whale watching with the crew of Captain Dave’s Dolphin Safari (www.dolphinsafari.com). I have been dolphin watching on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and Captain Dave’s Safari is by far the best experience. My recent expedition marks my third safari with Captain Dave’s.
On June 19th I took my mom (her first trip with Captain Dave’s) and my daughter (her second) to Dana Point to board a catamaran for a two-hour safari. As an ocean nut, there is almost no place I’d rather be than on the water (that’s on the water, not in the water). So, any day on the ocean is a good day. But, on this particular Tuesday we were especially blessed.
Earlier in the day the crew had seen two blue whales and they were hoping to find one of them again. We traveled several miles out and to our delight the captain spotted one of the whales in the distance. With my daughter and I standing on the front point of the catamaran we headed towards this amazing animal.
With patience (the whale was diving for ten minutes at a time) and the captain’s knowledge it wasn’t long before we were just a few hundred feet from the blue whale. I was in awe. This whale, the largest animal on earth, was moving through the water just a stone’s throw away from us. She was estimated to be 75 feet long with a tail that was as wide as our boat. Just three feet of her weighed more than our entire catamaran. Her heart alone is the size of a small car. She was amazing to watch.
As we stood on the arm of the catamaran closer to this giant animal than most people will ever be, I realized that with just one swipe of her tail she could break the boat to pieces. It would take but an ounce of her strength to turn us into matchsticks. The power contained in this animal is more than I can imagine. And here we were sailing next to her and often above her as she dove. Amazing!
A few times while the whale was diving the captain turned the catamaran towards a pod of Risso’s dolphins. Although I have seen other large pods of dolphin while with Captain Dave’s this day was even more special. Risso’s are shy and not as common as other dolphin making them harder to spot. However, here we were enjoying about 100 of them.
If you’ve seen dolphin in the wild there is nothing like it. They are playful, talkative and incredibly graceful. As they glided through the water we could hear them “speak” to one another. The sound was amazing as the clicks surrounded the catamaran. These wild dolphin would jump in the air as if they were trained. In fact, prior to my safaris with Captain Dave’s I thought show dolphin had been trained to do just that, jump and play. Not so. They do it in the wild as part of their natural way of life.
Throughout our expedition, we would alternate between the large, powerful whale and the elegant dolphin. What an amazing experience. There are just not words to describe the overwhelming sense of God: his power and strength of which we got just a glimpse in the blue whale and his creativity and playfulness of which he put but a drop in the beautiful Risso’s dolphin.
I am in awe of the Creator who is more than my feeble mind can comprehend. And I am forever thankful for this small glimpse of Him he allowed me to experience.
I am also thankful that we don’t need extraordinary experiences to see God. He makes himself known to us each and every day if only we look. Are you willing to look?
Where are you seeing God today?
For more information on Captain Dave’s Dolphin Safari and for numerous video clips visit them at www.dolphinsafari.com.