HAVE FAITH AND JUST GO FOR IT

A few years back my immediate family (wife, both sons, and myself) took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park. There was a lot of planning involved; what route to take, where to stay, and what to see and do while we were there. One possibility was to make a day trip to Jackson, Wyoming and go white water rafting. Two of us really wanted to do it and the other two weren’t too keen on the idea. After much compromise from both sides we decided on a combo package. The package came with a scenic morning trip down a calm part of the river where the guide did all the paddling, a box lunch, and then a white water trip in the afternoon. It seemed like the perfect plan.

 

While on our Yellowstone vacation the day finally came to go rafting. We arrived at the outfitters in the morning, climbed onto a bus and headed to the river to meet our guide. Full disclosure - my wife was the one most anxious about white water rafting. She’s not an adrenaline junky, so the calm water scenic trip was a nice way start to the day. Our guide for the morning was a pleasant college aged fella who immediately put my wife’s mind to ease about rafting. We grabbed our gear, jumped in the raft, and eased our way down the Snake River with the Grand Tetons as the backdrop. It was very pleasant.

 

Afterwards, we returned to the outfitters and enjoyed our lunch. You could feel the excitement start to build as the time drew near for our afternoon trip. Ok, some were more excited, while others were more anxious.

 

Once again, we climbed on a bus and headed to a different part of the river…the white water area. On the bus was the four of us and a family of six. This slightly eased my wife’s anxiety, thinking it would be better with more people on the raft. We arrived at the river’s edge and exited the bus. There were two pleasant college aged guides waiting for us - one for us and one for the other family; this immediately displeased my wife. The guide hurried us into life jackets and started to pass out paddles. My wife politely explained to him she would not be paddling and would be sitting in the middle of the raft. The guide explained she had to paddle in order for us to make it through the rapids. She didn’t like this dude as much as our earlier guide. We all climbed into the raft and headed downstream, a paddle in my wife’s hand while she sat on the edge of the raft. The guide taught us techniques and would bark out the commands when needed. We came to our first set of rapids; he barked out commands and we faired very well. “That wasn’t bad,” my wife said. “That wasn’t nothing,” the guide replied. This dude was not winning points with my wife. We went through several more small rapids and got very comfortable with our technique. Then we saw it…the BIG rapids.



“Oh My God!!!” we all said out loud. “This is it, here we go!” said the guide. (The name of this rapid is the Lunch Counter, look it up.) The guide barked out orders; we paddled, we screamed, we paddled harder, the guide kept barking at us, water splashed all around, and finally we made it out. The screaming turned to laughter and everyone was smiling at this point. We continued down the river and encountered several more rapids. We arrived at our exit point and climbed back on the bus. I asked my wife if she had a good time and if she’d do it again…yes she would!

Actual video of our white water trip: https://youtu.be/JEdILUwmMfI

We all agreed the guide was awesome. He taught us everything we needed to know to conquer the challenge/fear we were about to face.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

 

 



JUST RELAX

The drive to my favorite fly fishing river takes about an hour. I live in a large Midwest City. The voyage typically starts with picking up a good friend of mine, we grab a bite to eat, and head down the highway. With every passing mile the hustle and bustle of the city fades away. Our conversations are about anything and everything, but typically turns toward fishing. Thirty minutes into the trip we enter the rolling farm lands of western Wisconsin; soon we’re descending down the bluffs through mature hardwoods, and arrive at the small town that neighbors the river. The Catholic Church is within walking distance of the honey hole and has a nice parking lot; we pull into the back corner, grab our gear, and head to different spots on the river.

 

As I walk the lush green embankment that gradually slopes down to the rivers’ edge, the summer sun warms the back of my neck. Looking up to the bright blue sky, the occasional fluffy white cloud slowly lumbers by. The opposing bank is high and steep, concealed with a variety of large trees and heavy vines. The narrow river snakes through the valley carrying a few leaves and insects as it passes by. The water swirls around boulders and fallen timber, creating riffles that softly bubble along. I raise my fly rod, whip the tip backwards behind me, and methodically bring it forward pointing towards the desired landing place for the fly. The fly wisps past me and lands just above the riffle; the current pushing it from side to side through the torrent water, and finally drifts to the calm pool just ahead of the next bend. Several more cast are made before all the clutter in mind starts to fade away. Eventually my mind is clear and my entire focus is on the fly drifting through the water. On occasion, a trout rises to ingest the fly, slap the water, and pull the line tight. This is one of my favorite ways to relax.

 

Everyone has their own way to relax and unwind. Sometimes we need to clear our mind of the clutter and purify it.

Ezekiel 20:6-7 I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them-a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere. Then I said to them, “Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am you God”.