Surviving the Rapids

For reasons unknown to me, rivers have been on my mind recently.  I have spent the past week or so trying to craft an essay about rivers, though my wandering thoughts never went anywhere of consequence. This weekend, through a series of circumstances, the topic emerged. 

I spent the latter part of the week in anticipation of a "surprise date" that Heather had been carefully planning.  Come Saturday morning, I discovered that she had arranged to borrow kayaks from our friends Mike and Kellie.  She, typically the less adventurous of us, was eager to attempt something brand new.

We arrived at the river and went through a few last minute preparations.  I excitedly readied my kayak, eager to push out into the fast-moving water.  I intended to use the life preserver as a back rest though my wife, who is either more cautious or simply wiser, encouraged me to wear it.  I obliged. 

As I paddled out, 25 feet from shore, I capsized--separated not only from my glasses, cap, and water bottle, but also from the paddle and the kayak itself.  I panicked.  The water was moving toward the dam a half-mile downstream much faster than I had anticipated.  I did not know what to do.  I wanted to save the kayak and the paddle, but my mind was racing faster than the river.  Thankfully, Heather who so commonly serves as my ballast, yelled at me, "Calm down!" She reminded me that I was wearing the life preserver she had exhorted me to put on.  Thanks be to God, I calmed down; swam, crosscurrent, to shore, and apart from embarrassment, was left unscathed. 

Sometimes, in the river of life, the current quickens.  In those times it is easy to fear the worst, to lose sight of shore, and to forget that you are wearing a life preserver.  My life has often been a meandering stream, though at other times, I have faced rapids.  In those tumultuous times, God's word has been my life preserver.  He has provided friends and family who encourage me not to panic because I have God and His word.  In the midst of the swirling waters of life, he has reminded me that having more stuff or being respected are just incidentals that can go over the dam without a second thought. 

The future is uncertain. Life may be a lazy river now, though it often becomes a roaring rapids.  No matter how the water appears now, follow the wisdom my wife shared and put on your life preserver before you even push out from shore.