Lessons from a Rafting Trip

Early this morning I went on a bike ride, to beat the heat, to beat the day, and in the cool of the morning, God and I had some needed time to talk.  As my mind drifted from request to request, my heart began breaking at the seriousness of specific situations.  My heart is so saddened at my generation, and the choices we are making. As I grow older and deeper in my faith, the realization of humanity, selfishness, and the consequences of the previous are becoming ever more apparent.  We can proclaim something til we are blue in the face, but unless our lives reflect those actions, it means nothing. Everything we do ultimately affects ourselves and others in one way or another, and yet too often we neglect to recognize the severtiy of our actions.

As I was reflecting on this, God brought to my attention that too often, we find ourselves drowning. Drowning in our sin, our choices, our selfishness, our lack of strong moral conviction. And, this reminded me of an illustration my father shared with me last weekend.  A little background first:

Last weekend I was so blessed to travel to Colorado Springs for my cousin's beautiful wedding. The day of the wedding, my parents, MacKinzie, and I had time to go white water rafting. The water was more intense than anything we'd been on before, and at times it was a little nerve-racking. At one point in our trip, our guide assured us it was safe to "float/swim" in the river for a bit.  Trusting our guide, Kinzie and I (and a few others) decided to test the water. Although I thought hypothermia was going to set in, I floated peacefully along, enjoying my experience. Later my dad pointed out his experience of the swim:

My dad chose to stay in the raft, while Kinzie and I floated about. While I was in lala land, Dad recounted Kinzie's experience.  As she floated around, the water started getting rougher, the raft starting slipping farther away, and she started drifting closer to the edge of the river.  As she tried to fight her way back, her calm quickly turned to panic.  Dad recalls seeing the look of fear and urgency on her face. Everything within him screamed "save her!" Here his little girl, was completely helpless, grasping for help, and he would do anything in his power to pull her out. What a powerful example of the love and urgency our Heavenly Father has for us.

As we go through life, we make choices everyday. Unfortunately, if we aren't careful, we begin to drift farther away from the security of our raft, and before we know it, we start to drown.  How often do we live moment to moment when the water starts to crash in unexpectedly? Then what do we do? We panic. We can't understand how we drifted so far, why we're so desperate to be rescued. It's because we weren't paying attention.  We allowed ourselves to lose sight of the boat, and go our own way. We need to wake up, this is scary business, and if we don't seek refuge, we are playing with fire and we will not win.

Galatians 6:7,8 says“7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” 

I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to lean on Christ- to sow in the Spirit and not to the flesh.

My floating experience was completely different- I trusted my guide, I kept sight of the boat, I knew my father was watching me, and I was filled with perfect peace (now this lesson is for me just as much as it is for the next person, this is strictly an illustration to demonstarte the difference). We both started off the same, but our choices led to different endings.

 God is our refuge and strength,

always ready to help in times of trouble. - Psalms 46:1

Let's start taking preventive measures before our actions require saving. And, if you have drifted, have no fear, you're never to far to be saved.

When MacKinzie recognized her need for help, she didn't push further away from the raft-that could have meant injury or death. How ridiculous to go in the opposite direcition of safety!  No, she knew she needed to find the raft and just get close enough for her daddy to reach out and save her. And he was right there watching and ready the whole time.

Love.