Just Beneath the Surface

So much has happened since my last post and I apologize for taking so much time between then and now. It’s been a busy summer, including a trip to the Philippines and Phoenix, Arizona. Both trips were with the quartet and I had an amazing time in both places.

Our trip to the Philippines was another evangelistic outreach being held by the General Conference of SDA. The same pastor who traveled with us to Jakarta invited us to the Philippines. We were so blessed to be a part of a soul-winning venture and it was great to be exposed to another culture which has a long history of involvement with the United States.

We sang each night of the meetings and then had a mini-concert on the final Sabbath we were there. We were proud to be part of the 99 baptisms taking place that day. We met some incredibly talented people who also sang for the meetings and we made many, many lifelong friends.

One of the highlights of the trip was our scuba diving trip. None of us had ever been diving before and we were excited to be invited by one of the staff who is an experienced diver. After our crash course by the dive master, we dove in and I was completely surprised at the variety and abundance of aquatic life that was just a few feet below the surface.

As I swam around, the only sound was my own breathing and it made the sights I saw so much more focused. Fish swam inches from my mask and were surprisingly curious about me. I never expected to see so many different types of fish so close to the shore. There were uncountable types of corals as well, and they were every bit as interesting as the fish.

We were given some bread to feed the fish and they eagerly gobbled up every bite. Sometimes I felt a small nibble at the end of my fingers but it was never anything serious. In fact, it was fun to see them swarming around and trying to catch all the different species there were.

When we ran out of oxygen, we surfaced and I went back to the camp while the guys continued on snorkeling. I sat on a bench, drying off in the hot sun and reflected about how much beauty is oftentimes just below the surface. I know it’s an old cliché, but the same is true about people. As I sat there, it occurred to me, not for the first time, that we should take the time to look beneath the surface when we deal with people. So many people are labeled instantly (I’m guilty of it too) and then no one really cares to get to know them, simply based on their outward appearance.

That scuba diving trip taught me two important lessons. First, try to throw away your preconceived ideas when you deal with people. Second, take time to look beneath the surface when you talk to someone. It may mean looking them directly in the eyes a bit more than is comfortable. It might mean paying attention to body language more than you normally do. It might even mean doing more listening than talking.

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