White Water Rafting

We celebrated Mike and Sydney's birthdays this year by going white water rafting. I was excited but somewhat nervous. Then I sat in the "safety session" and oozed with fear. I literally prayed that the three of us would be safe and no one would fall out of the boat. When I heard the course contained water pressure from 6 pumps, one of which could fill an olympic pool in 20 seconds, my fear over took me.

Please God don't let us die. Please God don't let any of us have broken bones...and the list went on. When we were assigned our guide I started to laugh. His name was Noah. OK God, thanks for your humor! I told the guide I felt a bit less nervous because Noahs have good reputations when it comes to boats and alot of water.

As I sat down on the side of the raft I was once again put at ease. Noah's name was written on his oar. His real name...NOAH GODBEY....I could not make that up if I tried. So again I laughed and felt that God was comforting me. I was thankful to be sitting right in front of Noah and did not mind one bit that he screamed his instructions into my left ear.

We hit the waves and the rocks and it was a wild ride. Noah boomed instructions with his stern voice. He did that to ensure no one got tossed from the boat. "I want to be sure the people in the front of the boat can hear me", he explained. "It's no fun pulling people out" so I yell loud enough for the front of the raft to hear me. I am firm because "I want to avoid danger."

As my heart palpatations were increasing with rapids I felt God say "You are safe, no one will get hurt, I want to teach you something." I forced myself to trust God and Noah and I really had a great safe experience. It occurred to me that this is how we should be in life. When the wind and the waves hit, we need to be close to the source. The closer we are to "The Guide" the easier it is to hear His instructions. His desire is to keep everyone on course. His instructions are to keep everyone safe so that no one "falls out of the boat". It is no fun to get swept downstream and there are hazards that await you. Our Guide cares so much for us that He will scream the instructions so we can hear him, even if we aren't positioned close to Him. The question is are you listening to Him or the crashing waves?

Stick close to God so you can hear His instructions when you have a storm in your life. You may be able to look back and see what God was trying to teach you without needlessly injuring yourself!