Belly of a Whale

We just returned from a vacation in San Diego. During our trip, we went whale watching. After two hours of fruitlessly circling the Pacific in our Navy seal boat, someone alerted the captain about two humpback whales surfacing nearby. He sped as quickly as he could to a nearby location where we witnessed at least 50 dolphin frolicking around two massive whales putting on a spectacular show for us. It was well worth the wait!

I won’t lie. The ocean scares me a bit. It’s so mysterious, vast and often unpredictable. You just never know what’s lurking underneath. And I fear being swallowed up by it. The ocean and all that dwells within it is powerful. I prefer to enjoy it from a distance, sitting on the beach with a drink in my hand and my toes in the sand.

Regardless of your upbringing or your religious background, it’s a safe bet that you’ve heard of Jonah and the whale. It ranks up there as one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Can you imagine? I didn’t like the thought of sitting in an inflatable boat ABOVE the whales. I don’t even want to think about sitting INSIDE one of those whales.

But it’s not the “belly of the whale” part of the story, or how Jonah tried to run away from God that I remember the most, but rather the END of the story that I can relate to.

My therapist told me recently that I’m having a bonding experience with Jesus. I feel ashamed to even write that sentence. To put myself in the same category as Jesus is unthinkable. But then again, isn’t that why God sent his Son to earth.