The Eden Star - Boat Ride to See 3 Island Lighthouses

This is a much lengthier post than I typically share, but one that feels so closely tied to the images of these lighthouses I was able to photograph I can't help but to also share these words and hope you take time to read it and at the very least appreciate the differences seen in them.
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Over my time on a summer vacation trip to Acadia National Park I got the pleasure of sailing in a boat called the Eden Star,⭐ out on the ocean to see 3 different island lighthouses.
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🛥The weather wasn't all that bad in the beginning as we walked to the dock, just cloudy and a few random tiny drops of rain💦here or there; although, by the time we boarded the ship the only seats available were on the top deck, exposing us to the elements.🌧With nothing to shelter us from the rain that had only threatened more than the few tiny drops of rain when we first got to the dock started much heavier as we disembarked out to sea.🌊The waves lurched at the sides of the Eden Star, tossing the boat back and forth as it forged its way ahead.
I tried to shelter myself from the slanted rain that beat against me with a raincoat over my lap, a sweatshirt and hat. Nonetheless, the water seeped through, chilling my body. It was then during the journey to the lighthouses that I had to keep reminding myself when I started to shiver, if I kept on shivering it would only be harder to stop🛑.
🌿Thankfully the rain didn't last the entire boat ride, it only seemed to come in "waves" so to speak, sometimes light, other times much heavier. However, despite it all, I never once gave up, wanting to turn in earlier; I knew what was up ahead, the goal to see the island lighthouses up close.
      It wasn't until we reached the final lighthouse, and the furthest from land, that the 🌤sun peaked its way out from behind the gray rain clouds. ☁It was then that we saw blue sky and was graciously blessed with warmer air temperature, making it a much more pleasurable boat ride. 😊
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So, in the end, looking back on all of this, journeying through rain and sun,🌤 the beauty I saw in it all was truly a picture of God's goodness to me. And similarly of how lighthouses guide captains and their ships safely through storms when they're out to sea,✨Jesus is that lighthouse for us; He is the light of the world (Mark 8:12) and He guides is through the "storms" of this life.
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Times get tough, we get weary, but we should never lose hope for we know what is up ahead, the goal of living eternity with God Almighty. Sometimes we try to shelter ourselves from what we're facing, but sometimes there's nothing we can do to change what we're experiencing.
Best way I've found peace and even joy in the difficult times is to change my perspective. 🌿And when I do that, there's typically something great I can learn from the hard times and what I need to do is similar to when I was shivering, I need to keep reminding myself, the beautiful things that can be seen after I’ve passed through a hard time and that if I take my eyes off my situation and focus not on worrying (as I can get myself into great fear and is harder for me to stop) I find joy in my life. Not necessarily the situation, because sometimes those can be downright depressing, exhausting or just not fair, but God is that joy to me. ⚓
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