Hawaii July 4th.

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Fourth of July is my favorite holiday in Hawaii by far. It’s the day that I look forward to all summer. There’s something about watching fireworks on the beach that makes me feel like I’m in a movie. It doesn’t feel like real life, but then I pinch myself and I’m still awake. For me it is literally a jaw dropping moment.

This year Fourth of July fell on a Saturday, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to catch the Kailua fireworks because of the Saturday evening church service. But God cleared every obstacle along the way. We left church late, around 7 pm, and rushed over to Kailua praying to find a parking spot before taking the shuttle. Not only did we find a parking spot but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot there was a spot wide open next to the shuttle stop. We grabbed all our stuff and the shuttle was right there waiting for us. We hopped on, drove down to Kailua beach, and we were there in a matter of minutes. As we crossed the street we were worried there would be no space on the sand since there were so many people, but again there was no problem finding a spot. Everything we had worried about didn’t even arise as an obstacle. In the words of Pastor Joy, Praise the Lord!

We laid out all of our stuff and from our spot on the sand we could see the boat where the fireworks were going to be shot off from. The excitement grew and grew, and Darja and I could hardly contain ourselves. It felt like we were running around squealing because we had found such a great spot. There was ten minutes until the fireworks were going to start, so we got into the water prepared for the best. It was dark, and the water was warm. Then all of a sudden the first firework went off. Darja and I screamed because we were swimming right under the fireworks! I couldn’t believe it. I felt like it wasn’t real life. There we were swimming around under a fireworks show. I was amazed. Fourth of July in Hawaii did not disappoint. It was more than I could have ever asked for or imagined.

Ephesians 6:30 talks about how God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine. This night was a tangible experience of that. He cleared the way so that there would be no obstacles along the way. He put us in a place so perfect it didn’t feel real. I often wonder how people don’t believe in God when there are amazing, wonderful, and unexplainable things happening right in front of them. God is good all the time.