I'd pluck a flaming orange hibiscus flower and place it in my upswept chignon I wore that summer I lived in Hawaii--that summer I was twenty-one.

I'd left my home in Texas with one suitcase and flew alone across the ocean to join a group of college students for Bible training in Honolulu.  My faith was new, and I'd been apprehended by the lure of adventure--go to Hawaii, and receive training from renowned Bible teachers.  I was fearless.

It's a good thing I was.  The assignment was to live at a girl's school closed down for the summer, get a job by day and go to Bible school in the evenings.  I had simple faith I'd be able to do all that, was excited by the challenge.  And sure enough, I got a job handing out fliers for a Filipina hair dresser on a busy street corner in Honolulu.  The salon owner paid me cash every day.  God gave me favor with the young man hired to drive all us kids around the island.  The driver took me to work every morning and picked me up every afternoon. Sometimes he'd even drop me off at secluded beaches he found where I'd snorkel or find troves of gorgeous shells--my introverted self totally alive in the solitude of the blue sea and smell of salt. And the Word came alive to me those nights of study.  Every Sunday I went to a church that was so relaxed there were no sermons.  The church members happily greeted us students each week and placed leis around our necks. We sang worship songs for two hours, the fragrance of flowers filling the sanctuary.

That summer there was no worry of provision.  I possessed a cozy corner in a dorm room, a locker for my belongings, money in my pocket, transportation, the beauty of the island, wisdom of the Word and flowers in my hair.  

Now, in this later season, I'm not so easily captivated by the enticements of adventure.  I'm more prone to carry an umbrella when I walk the beach.  Cautious.  At times extremely fearful.  Afraid to risk. Even though I've had many more years to experience the provisions and care of God--His interventions, His majestic ways--I still hold back.  I doubt Him.  Still.   

Yet he coaxes.  "This way. Yes.  That's right, that's the way.  I'm right here.  You've got it.  You can put your umbrella away."