Well, hello stranger
Last week I had an adventure and took a road trip by myself. The trip had a purpose, to get my Advanced Open Water Dive Certification, but it was a solo trip non-the-less. I was a little apprehensive at first since I had never done anything like it in my life. But you know what? I had a blast! I was trying to put my finger on why I had such a fun time, and as I was reading a magazine article it donned on me what it was.
Strangers.
I was surrounded by strangers the whole time! Naturally, I am curious person. I love learning and exploring new things, and strangers are uncharted territory. My life had become a comfortable routine which didn’t leave room to meet new people. This trip forced me to interact with strangers. As I was driving down I-95 I wanted to lean out of my window and yell to the cars next to me, “Where are you going? Why? What are going to do when you get there?” I would see a small car crammed with stuff sporting a Quebec license plate and would make up a story about that person with the clues I gathered. She is from Canada and she is chasing her ex-boyfriend down south to tell him she loves him and wants him back.
Over the next 3 days I made acquaintances with countless people. I enjoyed talking to the clerk in the hotel lobby and learning about how she lived in Stuart her whole life and her sister runs a Sea Turtle rescue operation. She had amazing turtle rescue stories to tell and I wondered if the Sea Turtle I saw on my dive was alive because of the efforts of that lady’s sister. The guy at the Chili’s bar had an intriguing story about how he works on boats for a living. I was mesmerized by the couple on my dive boat who gave up their life in NY and moved to the keys to do what they love…dive. The pictures of their dive experiences were fascinating and inspiring. It’s amazing that you can learn so much from people in such a short period of time.
Then there was Donna, my dive instructor. She started off as a stranger but after 2 days of hanging out she was my new BFF. We had a fun time together and I was blown away by her story. I hope to see her again in order to share my ultimate story of finding life and joy in Jesus Christ.
When I got home Scott and I went on a lunch date and we had so much to tell each other. When I’d left for the trip we had become the ultra comfortable couple who always did things together. Now we were both telling stories-me of the strangers I’d met, the experiences I had; him about his adventures with his job. I had no idea how his stories would end and he had no idea how mine would. It was like we had become strangers again and that was fun!
