We pushed the kayaks into the briskly flowing creek so clear the rocks on the bottom seemed to have little distance from the observer.
All the kids were accounted for, the adults were getting settled in, and now the downstream float was presented with all its ecological diversity. Birds were singing, bugs were gliding across the water, and trees were reaching across, seeming to barely hold on to the banks with their spidery root balls clinging ever tightly to whatever they could grasp.
Water, sunscreen, snacks, kayaks, paddles, and were off.
The 2.5 half-hour float with kids in tow turned into nearly 4 hours of a Missouri creek floating triumphs and trials.
Amidst the beauty, the grandeur of creation, and the marvels of seeing diverse rocks and fish species through crystal clear flowing water, we had to paddle through shallows, often causing us to get out of the kayaks to pull across the rocks or even try to dip the oar in the rock bottoms and power through to deeper water.
It was in these periods that floating across varied colors of green and blue water, depending on the depth, gave way to slogging through shallow ripples and paddling through the rocks until pulling the kayak was required, which led me to a thought about life.
Much of life is like the kayak trip I experienced yesterday with my family and friends.
- We had different expectations of what the experience might present.
- We planned for those expectations and set off in hope.
- Much of the experience was met with different degrees of unmet and met expectations.
- Not one bend in the creek was the same.
- Incomparable beauty of creation, the laughter of children, and the smiles on the faces of adults produced a sense of contentment and joy in the decision to make the trip.
- Shallow water depths forced everyone at some point to adapt and face the hassle of getting out once again to proceed on our journey.
- The arrival at the end of our journey was met with a sense of satisfaction and weariness in a memory made amidst trials and triumphs.
Application
- We often set out in life with expectations that vary from those with us on life’s journey.
- We try to plan for variables that may present on our journey but can’t know all the details in store.
- The journey is varied and diverse.
- The journey presents trials and triumphs alike.
- The trials call us to adapt and flex.
- The triumphs call us to reflect and enjoy.
- As trials and triumphs are combined, we experience the delicate dance of living well in a world longing for its redemption (Romans 8:18-25).
And so, we press on…praising God for the trials and triumphs that fashion our experiences to honor our God for His sufficiency and sovereignty over both.
“I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”
Philippians 4:12
— June 22, 2023