I was inspired to write a little blog after my weekend beach trip with my husband this weekend.

During our little getaway, we had a chance to go snorkeling and that was a lot of fun. Part of our snorkeling tour took us out into the open sea where some dolphins were playing. Our big boat anchored near them and we had the opportunity to jump in the water and swim with them.

Right after I jumped in the water, though, I quickly discovered two things:

1) The water was cold. In fact, it made me feel sorry for the Titanic victims.

2) The dolphins stayed away from our boat.

After a while I started to feel a little seasick and swam back into the boat. Unfortunately, sitting on the boat bopping up and down made me even more seasick. Sitting aboard our boat, however, I was able to see why the dolphins would not come near us.  A man on a different boat, anchored nearby, had fish and he was FEEDING the dolphins. It was quite the show.  The man’s boat was not very big, but it was big enough for his fishing gear and his dog—a gorgeous yellow lab. The dog was happily wagging his tail and having a ball as he watched the dolphins jump out of the water and eat the fish right out of his master’s hand. 

Here we were paying money to “swim with dolphins,” getting wet, cold, and seasick to boot, and yet this man stayed dry and happy. He had the closest, best contact with the dolphins and yet his method was the simpler one. He didn’t have a fancy boat and he didn’t even get into the water.

This made me think of how easily we complicate our lives. We let our personal “issues” complicate what is supposed to be carefree and enjoyable.  Control and fear are mostly the two biggest hindrances.  We overthink everything from our relationships to our jobs and everything that comes our way. When we do this we often ruin things and never achieve the “results” we want.  It’s not meant to be so hard! It’s not supposed to be so complicated. When we make it so complicated we suck all the fun out of it and we miss out on the great moments, the joy of relationships, and the adventure of it all. Let’s all learn to take a deep breath and let simplicity bring peace into our life.  Let’s stop second-guessing every decision we make and enjoy the ride. It’s going to be OK.

Matthew 11:10: “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”