RAFTING THE RAPIDS ON THE RIVER OF LIFE

Standing by the river’s edge, excitement mounting, wearing my wetsuit and life jacket, holding my paddle tightly, I waited anxiously and enthusiastically to embark on my rafting trip down the river. The other paddlers and I stood in a circle where we were prepped with a “safety talk” by the lead guide before we were permitted to get into the raft. I sat in the front row, my favorite place to sit, as the exhilaration while experiencing the initial impact of having the voluminous water foam totally drench me as the raft got completely covered, gave me the greatest feeling in the world! The run on the river was 3.5 hours with about 20 minutes to rest at the half-way point. We started our rafting trip by having a “flip drill” in the calmer Class 2 water where each raft was flipped by its guide, who was the steersperson, and all the paddlers were thrown or jumped out of the raft as it was being flipped. We would then swim in the current back to the raft and re-board, which was not an easy feat swimming against a current tow, wearing a soaked wetsuit and life jacket, holding a paddle, trying to get up onto the edge of the raft using the guide rope and then getting into it safely. This had to be done very quickly as the raft did not remain still, but continued to float down the river in the slower current. The flip drill was done so we all had the experience of what it would be like, and what we should know to do, if our raft flipped on the Class 3 or 4 rapids, (Class 6 being unrunable). During the run on the river we would encounter all sizes of rocks, log jams and various types of debris including tree trunks and branches. Sometimes the current was so torrential that we would have to disembark at the side of the river and portage the raft around the portion of the river we were not able to run, finding a safer spot to re-launch. We stopped on the river at a calm eddy and waited for the rest of the rafts coming down river behind us to catch up, making sure we all got to this point safely. Once we had our rest break and everyone regrouped after recounting their journey thus far down the river, we got back in the raft and started paddling again. At the end of our run, tired but elated with having completed a successful trip with many exhilarating and sometimes really frightening and challenging moments, we came to our final destination at the river’s edge and disembarked. The paddlers and guides all pitched in together as a team to carry the rafts, one by one, up huge boulders to return them to the site where they would remain until their next adventure.

I am using this portion of my life’s journey as an analogy between my rafting the rapids on a river to my “Rafting the Rapids on the River of Life”. How often have I stood at the edge of something: a conversation, an idea, a relationship, a job, a career, a dream, a passion, a change, or an unfinished communication, and been so excited and exhilarated to get in my raft and ride the Rapids on the River of Life to see where it would take me? BUT as it goes on the River of Life, I encountered a “flip drill” and was thrown out of my raft, not able to have enough energy, drive or belief that I could make it back to my raft, to re-try, to see where the journey would take me. I had all the correct equipment (knowledge, time, commitment, resources, energy, passion, excitement, drive, enthusiasm, vision, support, faith, trust) to use to paddle my raft, but chose to let go of the paddle. In rafting we are taught never to let go of, or lose, our paddle! In my life, my paddle is my Faith and Trust in God and when I let go of, or lose this completely, I have no direction or guidance as to where to go. I aimlessly float around and around in circles out in the Rapids on the River of Life. When I do grasp my paddle again and continue on my rafting trip, it is important for me to listen to my Steersperson/Guide, who is God for me, and follow his direction, guidance, and instructions in order for me to paddle in the easiest, safest, most exciting and rewarding manner through the current on the River of Life. My life raft is the Angels, in whose arms I am safely carried, who keep me afloat and balanced. If I choose not to bypass obstacles on the River of Life that detract me from my purpose on my soulful journey, I experience turbulence in the churning current, becoming emotionally unsteady and perhaps even flipping by running into negative debris. When I need to rest, I am reminded by the Angels to stop at the river’s edge and look at the blessings and beauty I have been able to experience to this point on my spiritual journey. As I continue paddling the Rapids on the River of Life to my final destination, I choose to lean comfortably and committedly into my place on the raft, using my Faith and Trust to fully engage in paddling with God, as my Guide, following his every command for my safe passage. I know I am being carried by the Angels with ease and grace through every current, weak or strong, fast or slow, challenging or easy, Rafting the Rapids on the River of Life.

From My Heart to Yours
Angel Blessings
Brenda Rachel, Humanity With Heart
http://brendarachel4angels.com