White waters

While the river of life glides along smoothly, it remains the same river; only the landscape on either bank seems to change. (Max Muller)

Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should. (Psalm 90:12 TLB)

There are some days I am up to whatever comes my way, while others seem to be carrying me in a current all their own and one I cannot seem to master any control over whatsoever. We probably all experience those moments where it feels like we are totally being tossed to and fro in the white-waters of life. In those times, we can panic, or we can recount how well-equipped we really are, with life jacket secured, a guide who knows the waters like the back of his hand, and who knows some of the most beautiful things we will see are those we observe once we take our eyes off the churning and tossing waters. The banks carved by those churning waters are a sight to behold!

Not all of life will go as it "should", but I have to ask you who determines the "should" for your life? There are lots and lots of times I have been the one determined to be in charge, but all of life isn't "lazy river" floating. The river picks up speed and increases in "demands" as it flows further and further downstream. There will come times and places it isn't going to lend itself to "laziness"! When those times come, we can pull ourselves out of the waters and try to navigate around those rougher places, or we can allow God to help us navigate through them like champions! The latter gives us a much different view and a greater trust in the one who is navigating on our behalf!

Spending our days as "we should" is not always as easy as it sounds. There are times when the "could" of my desire doesn't actually match up with the "should" of the present demands. Honestly, I think God wants us to "relax" not so much in the laziness of the barely moving waters, but more so in the torrent of churning when the white waters actually catch us up in their flow. How hard it is to relax when we feel our life's survival is in the hands of another, though. I wouldn't think to navigate white waters alone simply because I am not an expert swimmer, nor am I an expert in reading the current! I need the hand of one more skilled than I to help guide me through those spaces. 

Rather than focusing so much on the churning of the waters of life, maybe we'd see much more than the upheaval in front of us if we learned to trust the one who has the helm of the boat a little more. If we got a good look at him and saw just how confident he was in those moments when the white waters are all around us, we might just rest a little more in his ability and desire to keep us safe! After all, that is his mission in life - ours is to trust and rest and take in the passing banks. Just sayin!

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