Memory is a funny thing. Do you remember completely useless things from decades ago, but can’t remember what you had for lunch yesterday or where you put your car keys this morning?
I am blessed (at least that’s the word I’m going with) with the strange ability to remember movie titles from films I have never even seen. It happens all the time.
It happened just this morning as I was thinking about writing this post after returning from an amazing cruise with Mrs. Sweetie and 104 other friends to New England, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
“The Accidental Tourist,” a 1988 film with William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Geena Davis, popped into my head. I never saw the movie and had to look it up on Wikipedia to see what it was about.
What sparked the memory was the title that I had already decided for this post: Vacationing on Purpose. From there, my mind took a circuitous voyage through the irony of a not-on-purpose vacation, hence an accidental vacation, and—VOILA—The accidental tourist!
So, have you ever accidentally gone on vacation?
Probably not.
But, have you ever built a vacation experience around your life’s purpose?
I don’t mean a “working vacation” where you stay plugged in and do your regular work from a scenic locale.
I mean a legitimate out-of-the-ordinary vacating of the work you are paid for while intentionally pursuing the life you are made for.
Since my belief system does not really allow for “coincidence,” I’m going to describe our new ministry adventure as a serendipitous and providential intersection of pleasure and purpose. That’s a mouthful, but I don’t know how else to describe it.
In 2016, we were some of the last ones to register for the inaugural “Ministry Cruise” of the North Texas Singers. We only went because another planned mission trip to India had been prevented by visa problems. Along with a group of about 40 (25 singers), we cruised the Caribbean, singing in a church in the Bahamas, a hospital in St. Thomas, and a nursing home in St. Maarten. We also did a couple of concerts on board the ship and sang for maybe 150 people. It was a wonderful experience of encouraging people through music. Sweetie and I thought it was a one-time thing.
But the group gathered some momentum and in 2017 we shared a cruise to Alaska with a group of about 75 (40 singers). We were unable to arrange port singing experiences, but we did two concerts in much higher visibility areas on the ship, this time singing for several hundred travelers.
On last week’s trip, our group of 106 (75 singers) performed three standing-room-only concerts in the ship’s Music Hall. Many people attended all three concerts and told us how our concerts were the highlight of their trip, how we encouraged them to think about their relationship with God, and how God used us to restore their hope.
My life’s purpose is to serve as a guide for people who are willing to explore and help them discover that their lives matter to God and He has a uniquely amazing life for them to live. And in a serendipitous and providential intersection of pleasure and purpose, I get to do it on a cruise ship! How cool is that?
Want to go with us next time? Save the date for February 7-15, 2020 and email me for information at contactgerrylewis@gmail.com.
