Cruising 2014: Day three {Coco Cay, Bahamas}

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, day three of our cruise was one of my favorites of the whole trip. The morning sunrise was absolutely stunning and the Lord truly blessed this day immensely.

If you don't know (which I didn't before the cruise) Coco Cay is an island owned by Royal Caribbean. Due to this the island is mildly crowded, and compared to the "chaotic and hectic feel" of Nassau, Coco Cay was extremely relaxed. It was the perfect day for rest and relaxation and I was so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to connect a little more with new friends. Michelle and I had a really relaxed breakfast and met a sweet couple from England before heading down to catch one of the boats to take us to the island. {As a side note here I have to share how this was a gift from the Lord and an answer to prayer as this day, just like every other day was not crowded and we didn't have to stand and wait in line. Straight standing for long periods of time takes a lot of out of me physically so this blessing from the Lord was truly an answer to prayer.}

To a gal who has spent half of her life in boats and on the water I was still in awe at how BIG the cruise ship was (even though I had learned that this is actually the smallest boat that Royal Caribbean has!). We were in a large boat as it was (approximately 150-200 people could fit in this tendered boat) but in comparison to our cruise ship it felt like we were in a little toy model ship!

As I mentioned above Coco Cay is owned by Royal Caribbean and so the only cruise ships for the day was our ship and one other (seen in the picture below).

Coco Cay was stunning. Simply stunning. The blues in the water were breath-taking and extremely unique.

Our ship on the pretty blue ocean waters!

The beauty of God's creation is simply stunning and Coco Cay is one of the beautiful places on earth that I have ever seen. Words don't even do justice to such beauty. I will let the pictures speak for themselves (*smiles*).

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. 

You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."

-Isaiah 58:eleven-

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day and the Lord provided some very unique and special answers to prayer on this day! Another answer to prayer (in addition to short lines throughout the trip) was in providing a place for us to sit down. Due to the fact that Michelle and I had not left the boat very early in the morning we arrived and couldn't find a chair to sit down (due to the fact that all of the chairs were taken). In addition to this there were not any umbrellas that were left. As we surveyed our surrounding area I immediately asked the Lord to help us find a place to sit. 

Not two seconds later Michelle spotted two empty chairs that we had not seen before. In addition to this a kind gentleman helped us move the chairs and we quickly found a spot under the palm trees that were in the shade (almost immediately after we learned that there were no umbrellas left to rent). The Lord was so good!

As we sat down and got settled I realized that a sweet lady that I had connected with a little bit through instagram was sitting right in front of us! It was so delightful to connect with Ali and to meet her and her mom "officially". After we chatted for a little bit Ali, Michelle, and I went in the water and had a lovely time chatting and getting to know each other. As we were coming out of the water we were able to briefly connect with Abi who is delightful.

After we went swimming we sat down for a little bit and then Michelle and I went to grab some food for lunch. As we were heading back to our seats Hannah starting chatting with us and then Rachel came to chat also and so did Ruth and Ali. This was another answer to prayer as Michelle and I had looked forward to connecting with other Christian ladies on this trip and I had been looking forward to connecting with the Wissmann ladies for some time. As many of you know Rachel's love story has been an incredible inspiration to me and the Lord truly has used it to touch my life. (If you haven't read it I highly encourage you to read it, especially if you are single and longing to be married. You can click HERE to read it!) It was delightful to stand there and chat with these amazing Godly women and truly they were just wonderful.  Honestly the entire Wissmann Family has a delightful way of putting people at ease, creating joy and making you feel like you are the most important person as you chat with them. They are never rushed in their conversations but the Lord's sweet spirit shines through them as you talk. Sweetly they invited us to join them at their area and we had the most delightful time talking, laughing, and hanging out. Truly the Lord was there and His love was shown to this little heart of mine through this wonderful time. 

Time seemed to fly and I didn't think to even take pictures until we were getting ready to get back on the boat to the cruise ship. As we made our way to the boat I snapped some last minute pictures of the island and silently thanked the Lord for such a wonderful wonderful day. Truly His mercies are new every morning.

Throughout the remainder of the trip Michelle and I continued to talk about how blessed we had been in this day to have such a gorgeous day, beautiful weather and scenery, and the chance to connect with some lovely new friends. It was definitely a wonderful wonderful day!! Thank you so much Ali for your delightful heart and to the Wissmann ladies for making us feel so welcome! It is an honor to call each of you friends!!