"The thrill isn't in the winning. It's in the doing." -Chuck Knoll
Leave my house, drive down the hill, hop on the Whidbey Island ferry, and drive north up the island for an hour.
And then you will come to a breathtaking, awe-inspiring sight.
Deception Pass is a slim slice of water that teems with wild tides, unpredictable currents, and gorgeous churning waters. She's a danger, and looking out across her deceptively pretty green waves will send a a shiver down your spine.
Now, if you dare, walk out on the bridge. Go all the way to the middle of the span, where the winter winds whipping off the Strait of Juan de Fuca hit you square in the chest. Let the spattering raindrops pelt your face. Look down on that turbulent water, and gauge the sturdiness of that thin railing, the only thing that keeps you from falling a long, long way down. Feel the bridge rumble and roll under your feet as the unrelenting traffic hurtles by just inches behind your back.
Recognize what an incredibly risky thing you have chosen to do, and bask in the thrill of it all.
^ She's actually two bridges - totaling about a quarter of a mile - and this is the southern section. Trails and stairways make it possible to explore under and around the bridge without having to step onto the roadway.
^ Gracie's interested in hiking down to the beach but today we are focusing our efforts on the bridge itself.
^ Sidewalks line each side of the roadway, complete with barriers on both sides. And while gorgeous views are afforded to the east and the west, we opt for the Pacific-facing west side.
^ As we step out from the forest that surrounds the approach to the bridge, the view opens up. Lush forest, rocky beaches and headlands, emerald green water, and astounding views down the Strait toward the open ocean blow my mind.
^ Uhh, looking straight down to the water 180 feet below is not for the faint of heart. Do it anyway.
^ Stepping out toward the middle of the span, the winds take my breath away as the ever-present rain slaps my face. She's a challenge, this bridge of ours, and she literally makes me tingle from head to toe.
^ The open vista to the north showcases the softly rounded foresty bumps of the San Juan Islands, and beyond them, beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
^ And when our terror at the bridge loses its fiercest hold over us, Gracie and I find other places to lend us some new thrills.
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As the waves of adrenaline shoot through me and I feel the lovely sensation of intense thrill all but sweeping me off my feet, I think about Christmas.
Baby Jesus wasn't born for a life of lullabies, angels, and visiting royalty.
He came to turn the world upside down,
to tend to the weak and poor,
to heal the sick and make the lame walk again
to care for the widow and the orphan,
to tell the rich and mighty that their titles and treasures mean absolutely nothing.
He came to blow powerful winds of change into our faces, and rain down on us his radical ideas of love and mercy.
Christmas is a day that should send a shiver down the spine of us Christians.
As a person who follows Jesus, I realize what an incredibly risky thing I have chosen to do, and I bask in the thrill of it all.
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Read more about my 2022 Christmas celebrations.
