I recently went canoeing down the Buffalo River in Northern Arkansas. It was fantastically crazy! The river was at flood stage for a lot of the time we were there. Because it was at flood stage, the water was moving incredibly fast. It's so easy to underestimate the power of water until your home is destroyed in a flood, you've gotten stuck in a canoe trap against the tree and the fast current, or you've seen the Grand Canyon.
My buddy and I had been canoeing before, but not like this! I don't think we ever tipped over, but several times we got stuck and water poured into our canoe, making us have to jump out and hope for the best. It was wildly exhilarating, but also very scary.
My buddy and I got to talking about God's will and what does the river teach us about God's will??? Here are some things that we discussed while on a flood stage river in an overloaded canoe as a bunch of amatures...
1) Sometimes following God's will is incredibly scary and unpredictable.
2) As the river had its way with us, we realized that the river is moving downstream (duh...). It had a place to where it was moving. It would get us there one way or another. It may take us paddling and steering to make the journey easier instead of getting hit by trees and stuck in strainers....So does following God mean that He has a plan for us and He'll get us there. We may jump in with our own plans and it may or may not help us out, but the river (God) still got us where it (He) wants us to be.
3) You meet some interesting people along the way. On the river, we met some firefighters from New Orleans who had their beers strapped around their necks, had wrapped several canoes the day before, but still got back on the river and had a blast. We meet a paddlers club of retired older folks who paddle all over the US - Grand Canyon, Mississippi River, Rio Grande, etc. They welcomed us in the first night as we were really soaked. They let us hang out by their fire, served us awesome food, and margaritas (Cinco de Mayo!)
4) I am very insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
5) Beautiful scenery
6) Enjoy the ride. Following God's will doesn't always mean it will be safe and comfortable. When my buddy and I got in panic mode after we lost the boat the first day and had to do the whitewater float (feel downstream so you don't bang your head on a rock that you can't see....) it was kind of scary, but really cool once we got everything back safely.
Your thoughts about following God's will???
2 comments:
And there are some really boring parts. That doesn't mean it's a bad trip. Take advantage of the slow moments - even if they last 'too' long. (I tried hard not to be too cheesy.)
Hello, My name is Will. I was wonder, because my scouting troop goes to the buffalo annually. From what you witness at the buffalo when you canoed there, do you think the flood stage will be much lower on Friday, May 6, 2011. Thanks
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