Fifth Day in Paradise

Karen and I are sitting on the patio of the restaurant/bar where we eat and looking out at a cresent moon shining with a smile over the waters of the Caribbean. We had a wonderful day of diving on our own. We are now getting more relaxed and able to look around much more. The first dive was just a casual and slow swim just off our resort. We saw lots of beautiful fish and glorious coral. We saw a Queen Parrot fish which is just as beautiful as any parrot in the air. We saw tiny little angel fish. And then there was the Great Barracuda.

After lunch and a nap we did dive two for this day. We went on the site La Machaca, which is the name of a small wreck in rather shallow water (35 feet) and then we kept on swimming past it. As we started out, we found an octopus hiding under an old oil barrel. We could just see his one tenticul and head with two eyes starring at us. Our planned third dive was aborted when I noticed that Karen's connection with the tank and her regulator was leaking. Turned out she had a bad O-ring on the tank. We decided that God wanted us to quit for the day and this was his way to get our attention. We seldom check our connections once we are in the water. So this was surely a "God Sighting" even though it was not real dangerous. Karen would have used up her air more quickly, but since Walt "sucks" air much faster, she still would have had air left after he ran out.

Tomorrow is our last day for diving. We will go on two boat dives tomorrow and then have free diving in the afternoon. Walt might try a night dive if anyone is interested in going with him. The two pictures are obvious, Karen and I fully outfitted to begin our dive this morning. Please don't laugh too hard. All that gear weighs over 70 pounds each and is quite the struggle to get on each dive. Now a word from Karen...

Hi. It sure is beautiful here. When I first drafted this part, we were sitting on our porch with two couples in our group journaling and logging in their dive logs, all talking "fish talk".

I feel like I have three guardian angels with me on this trip. One is the real one assigned to me as a believer. The second one is our dive leader who miraculously appears on our boat dives always when I need him to get me down and started in the right direction. Then he passes me off to my third guardian angel...Walt.

With each dive Walt and I are improving in our skills and keeping together better as "dive buddies".

Two scriptures have taken on increased meaning for me. Psalm 139:9 "If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me." I feel so peaceful and secure "down there" (as long as God's three guardian angels are near.)

The second scripture describes the fifth dayof creation...Genesis 1:20, 22. "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures...And God blessed them saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas.'"

As a six day creationist, God created each kind of these glorious fish all in one day, just with the sound of His voice. I know God is awesome, but seeing His underwater world He made makes Him even more so!