INTRODUCTION

Rock the Boat, Don’t Rock the Boat Baby (Hues Corporation — Rock the Boat). Oh, the wonderful  memories this song brings back. Memories from the ’80s, when I was young, footloose and fancy-free.  What a fun song to bop my head to, do the rock to and just chill to with my cousins and friends.  

I had absolutely no idea this song would take on a new meaning for me while stranded on Holland  America’s Zaandam cruise ship in March 2020. One of the things I did to fight boredom during our  quarantine was to search for and listen to boat-related songs, like Fantastic Voyage (Lakeside —  Fantastic Voyage (Official Music Video) and Sail On (Commodores — Sail On). I would rock it out in our  little cabin in an attempt to stay sane while simultaneously annoying my husband. But when I played  Rock the Boat, something happened. I heard from God (I’m not kidding), and He asked me a question,  mid-rock: “Isn’t this song just like you? You want me to rock the boat (i.e., answer your prayers, give you  a blessing, move mountains, perform miracles), but if the answer isn’t just as you envisioned, in the  timeframe you determined, you begin to backtrack.All of a sudden, your “Rock My boat” becomes, cries  of “Never mind! Don’t rock the boat, Jesus!”  

Talk about an “Aha Moment” (or maybe an OUCH Moment)! You see, I desperately wanted this trip. I  wanted to celebrate my 50th birthday in style. I wanted to do something big. I wanted to check another  thing off of my bucket list. I had a plan and a vision. And I even shared it with God. I just needed His  stamp of approval.  

But little did I know that this trip would be the antithesis of all my planning and visioning. And while it  didn’t turn out to be the answered prayer I wanted, it answered so many other prayers prayed and long  forgotten. God’s plan and purpose turned out to be so much more impactful, meaningful and miraculous  than anything I could ever have hoped for or imagined.  

I pray that my testimony inspires you and that the lessons I learned and the miracles I experienced on  “the boat” will encourage you during your “Rock the boat, don’t rock the boat Jesus” moments. And in  case you’re thinking, “I haven’t had a “stranded on the boat, lost at sea moment” so how could this  possibly relate to me?” Believe me, I get it. I’m sure that your “boat” may not be anything like mine.  Most likely, it’s not a boat at all. But truth be told, while few will experience being quarantined on an  actual boat, we all have had or will have our “boat experiences.” No, you may not have had the  experience of being lost at sea for a month, but I bet you can relate to that feeling of being lost with no  view of hope on the shoreline. Or what about the experience of weathering crashing waves and raging  storms? You know that experience when you’re having financial challenges, and just as soon as you’ve  figured out how to pay the light bill, the air conditioning goes out, only for you to discover that your  spouse has Cancer right on the heels of bailing your child out of jail. Wave after wave after wave, with  no chance to catch your breath. Or maybe you’re desperately trying to figure out how to get out of the  boat you’re in and experience the miracle of walking on water. You have a dream of starting your own  business, or you want to launch your singing career or write a book. You know you need to get out of  the boat, but the waters seem a bit scary. Or maybe you like your boat, but you need to throw some  people overboard so they can learn to swim for themselves. Maybe you need to discover that you can’t  save them, and if you’re not careful, their weight may just pull you down and threaten to drown you  both. Or perhaps you just need to learn to ride the waves. Lay back and float for a while. 

Whatever your boat experience may be, I hope you’ll join me on this journey as I share the many lessons  learned from my month-long COVID-19 adventure aboard the Holland America Zaandam and Rotterdam  Cruise ships, from March 6th to April 4th, 2020. Let’s rock it out together, discovering what God has in  store for you and me!