I've never been much of a swimmer. Water over my nostrils makes me panic and the best I can really do is dog-paddle.

During one of our earlier trips to Eilat, on the Red Sea, my husband urged me to go snorkeling with him. The thought of putting my face under water was not a pleasant one. Navigating through the sea-urchined shallow waters with flippers on didn't boost my confidence. (Today that isn't necessary, you just step off a dock.) I kept going, just to please Wayne. Finally we reached waters deep enough to snorkel.

I put on my mask and breathed nervously though the tube. Then I bent over to practice breathing in the water. As I did that, everything changed! Suddenly I saw a world of wonder that took my breath away! I breathed deeply through the snorkel, and saw several meters away a coral reef with various underwater living things, fish big and small, colors fluorescent and surreal!

I needed no more coaxing! Up went my feet and I went exploring. Creatures I had never imagined swam right up and looked at me. A school of little striped fish went by real close, completely ignoring my presence. One coral had tiny "flowers" on its rock-like surface. If I put my finger close, the flower disappeared. On and on I went, mesmerized by a world of beauty I had never before experienced.

After that I was an enthusiast. Everyone had to go and see what I had seen! "You can do it!" I told my parents, who also aren't really swimmers. Everyone I know who visits Eilat must go snorkeling or scuba-diving and see what I saw!

God's kingdom sadly is a world that most people think they don't want to know about. "I'm not the religious type," they say, or "I'm not interested in faith - it's just a crutch!" Yet awaiting them is a world of wonder for which they were created! One glimpse and they'd know that their hearts had always yearned for His world, under the canopy of His love and His presence!

You and I who are in this kingdom should be enthusiastic about bringing others into it! Offer a taste, a glimpse! Smell and look like one who dwells in this kingdom! If you aren't yet one who has experienced God's love and presence, today I say to you, "You've got to taste it! You've got to see that God is good!"

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Oh, God, nothing in this world compares to the world You have for us. Knowing You changes everything! You offered us life, and life more full and whole! All other pleasures pale compared to knowing you. Many things we think we want are mere counterfeits of Your "pleasures"! I want to kick up my feet, plunge in and experience all that You have for me! You are good and You are beautiful!"