Painting with Words

Last summer a friend of mine encouraged me to start creatively writing again, which I used to love to do but hadn't for quite a while! So I began again to try to describe the surroundings and experiences of my life and the thoughts that I was pondering. One of my favorite things to do is try to describe a scene in such a way that you can picture it, feel it, smell it, and be there with me!

The small work boat that I drive all summer

When I'm not at school, I work as a Captain on a small transportation boat in the San Juan Islands of WA. This job provides me with so many incredible experiences and my soul is constantly being fed with the beauty and splendor of the creation around me! Here is a “painting” of an early morning out in the islands:

The First Breaths

Aug '13

It's a gray day. But completely calm.

The surface of the silvery water is smooth like silk, rippling only occasionally at the disturbance of a diving bird or a porpoise coming up for air. Reflected on the glassy expanse is the light gray cloud cover softly blanketing the sky, and brightening a little now so I know the sun must have risen somewhere above.

Wispy strands of mist cling on the rocky point and sweep along the shore, looking like strands of cobwebs that God forgot to sweep up last night. Up the wooded island mountainside smoke appears to be wafting skyward from amongst the trees; are fires burning? No, it's just a trick of the steamy clouds.

The world is still and quiet; I and my silver boat are the only things stirring in this early morning oasis.

But now a low beach is appearing through the haze, with small, sleepy houses sitting along the shore. There at the water's edge a man stands waiting for me, covering a yawn with a work-worn hand and pulling his hat down as rain drops begin to fall. I guess I'm not the only one awake, beginning another day of life and work, moving along to the rhythm of the islands.

The drops are coming faster and wetter now – I pull up my hood to go out on deck. With a smile and a simple “good morning” I welcome the man into my warm cabin. He answers back and then a comfortable silence rests between us as the beach falls away behind; it's too early for talk.

It's a good day. The rain will stop and everything will wake up soon, but for now this is just my own world – a watery landscape; quiet, mysterious, alive with God and brimming with possibility. There's a smile in the Creator's eyes, and in mine too, in anticipation of another day of living and breathing with Him...

The islands await!