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

I had absolutely no idea that this song would take on a new meaning for me while stranded on Holland America’s Zaandam cruise ship in March of 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 (link) and Sail On (link) or songs about home like Leaving on a Jet Plane (link) , I Wish I Were Home (link) or Take Me Home (link) . 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…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 actually served to answer 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 encourages you and that the lessons I learned and the miracles I experienced will serve to encourage you during your “rock the boat, don’t rock the boat Jesus” moments. And I get it. Your boat may not be anything like my boat. Most likely it’s not a boat at all. But truth be told, while few won’t 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 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 COV-19 adventure aboard the Holland America Zaandam and Rotterdam Cruise ships March 6th through April 4th of 2020. Let’s rock it out together, discovering what God has in store for you and for me!