H is for Hawaii

This blog was written by my mom, Sandra Sample. I'm just posting it for her. :)



I married a man from Hawaii. That was very smart of me. :) Not that I went looking for a man from Hawaii, but that is who God brought to me. I have had the pleasure of going to Hawaii 8 times and it never grows old.

Several years ago, Pastor Bob did a series on how we best commune with God. I don’t remember all the options, but I was high on the nature option. Must be why I love Hawaii. The vibrant colors. The ocean. The mountains. The desert-like areas (yes, there are cacti on the side of Haleakala). The sunsets. The sunrises.

I get up earlier when I am on vacation in Maui than when I am home and going to work. The ocean calls me. Literally. We stay in a condo on Maui that is across the street from the ocean, and I can hear the waves. I usually leave a note for my family and friends to tell them I’m at the beach. Sometimes I am the only one sitting there, watching the sun come up, listening to the waves crash. He is so powerful! Tears are coming to my eyes just thinking about the majesty of those sunrises.

Other times there might be a person or a couple walking the beach. There is a group of “older” people that walk in the ocean. Back and forth, back and forth. They are neck-high in the water. I thought if they could do that, I could too. Oh my, was that hard! The sand shifts. The waves rock you. It is very hard to stay balanced. But again, I thought of how God was in control of those tides, the waves, the sand. The ocean is SOOOO big. But God is bigger. How cool is that?

The trip up Haleakala – well no one could do that trip without praying. :) It is not for the faint of heart. There are no guard rails. It is a very curvy road. And to see the sunrise, you are going up in the dark. To see the sunset, you are coming down in the dark. But is it worth it? You bet! The sunsets and sunrises are gorgeous. I especially love the glory rays. I don’t know if that is the technical term, but it is what we call them in our family. Do you know what I mean? They are rays of light that come down from the heavens! At the top, you are driving above the clouds. And the view. You see a volcano crater. You see the ocean. Of course, the sky. You feel so small in the grandeur of it all.


The colors in Hawaii are beautiful. I have a picture of the ocean that must have 5 different shades of blue. The flowers are in every imaginable color. I do love the red hibiscus! Even the hibiscus is a thing that only God could create. Not only does He make a single hibiscus, but He makes a double and even a triple hibiscus. Do you think He thought, when seeing the single, I can do better than that? When you look at a hibiscus or an orchid or a plumeria – each petal is so soft and so detailed and intricate.

The whales. What magnificent creatures. I haven’t seen Willy yet (or the type of whale he is, I should say), but how does something that big throw himself out of the water like that? We saw one just slapping his tail over and over in the water. I think he was just playing. Maybe he was stuck. Probably playing.

The lava. Janda was the first to see the lava on our trip to the Big Island. Woah! Only God could create this red, thick, pudding-like flow that was just oozing down the mountain. We walked on cooled lava with the red flowing under our feet. You could feel the heat. It was very safe as the rangers had picked out a path for us, but it still was kind of eerie. But just the idea of that hot red lava cooling to a hard black rock. It just makes you think. Something like that just doesn’t happen. Some One makes it happen.

I love Hawaii. :) I could go on and on but …. I highly encourage everyone to go see Hawaii for yourself. If you have questions, I would love to talk to you about it!