Here I am home, mostly alone, almost at peace. Aaahhh, you gotta love it when the guys feel the need to run off to the woods and do the "guy bonding thing". It's been just Scamp and me at home since yesterday morning and, I must admit, the semi-solitude has been enjoyable. The laundry pile hasn't really grown all that much, there really aren't a lot of dishes in the sink and the clutter in the living room is at an all time low. I could get used to this. Of course, it loses some of it's shine when I have to do things like, go out and untangle the dumb 3-legged dog because she keeps getting her line caught in the bushes, or go get the mail, or pump gas, or take out the trash or bring in the groceries or walk the dog or, or, or, ok, it's time for them to come home! Upon further review, I'm tired!!
I spoke with J earlier today and it sounds as if everyone has had a good time. They are on a white water rafting trip with the youth group from church. Of course, J had to start our conversation with something like "well there was only one injury on the river today.......... it was Mumbles" It seems there were 5 boats but only 2 guides. So 3 of the adult chaperones were "captains" over the other 3 boats. Mumbles was in a boat with the youth pastor as captain. The boat with one of the guides came along side and he started to goof off and give the guide a hard time, just playing around. The guide, being of the fairly young variety and therefore lacking a while lot of good judgement, reached out, grabbed Mumbles and yanked him from his boat. All in good fun ha ha, good joke, very humorous, no harm done. Right? Well, it seems the guide had forgotten they were approaching a series of rapids right about that time and, after being sucked under the boats and spit out the other side, Mumbles was out of reach of anyone actually inside a boat. He ended up going through that whole series of rapids on his back, head first. Thankfully, the Lord was watching over him and he emerged from the other side with only a slightly beat up knee. It could have been so much worse! It could have been disastrous!
Here's the thing, I prayed for my boys, just like I always do, but my prayers were concentrated on Monkey Boy and Surfer Dude, who, despite their names, are not the strongest swimmers in the family. Mumbles, while goofy, is a very strong swimmer so I worried less about him. In the end, it didn't matter. God had it all under control and no one was seriously injured and some important lessons were learned. Namely, don't give a hard time to someone who has your life in his hands while going down a river. (cue the banjo music)
Once I stopped hyperventilating over the near miss of tragedy and picked myself back up off the floor I started to ponder what had happened in the way only my tilted brain can do. You know me, once again, there was a startling spiritual parallel. I guess the moral would be "be careful who you float your boat close to". Sometimes, in the enjoyment of our life's river we get a little lax and start to float places we don't really need to be. I'm not talking about strip clubs, bars, crack houses or Chuck E Cheeses (sorry, Chuck, truth is truth, you live in a house of insanity), I'm talking about those times in life where we just simply quit paddling and start to float. The problem with floating, while relaxing enough, is that we have no control over our destination. We are at the current's mercy. Before we know it, our boat has drifted alongside the enemy's boat and, in an instant, he has snagged us and thrown us into the water. It pays to vigilant. It pays to stay in control of your path by listening to the Lord and following what he says, not simply going wherever the river might take you.
Who are you floating near today? Have you stowed your oars in favor of a relaxing float? Are there things or people encroaching on the space that should be reserved only for the Lord? Today I'm going to re-examine the current that I'm in. I'm going to pick my oars back up and ask the Captain for some direction. Floating may be relaxing, but I'd rather stay in my boat. I don't want to get my hair wet, I just washed it.
Until next time, I'll be here, paddling away and trying to avoid large grey mice hawking cheese pizza.
Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor
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