Riding the rapids …..

It seems like these last few weeks I have been swimming up a strong current. You know the kind you see on a river when the current is ripping along so fast and with incredible strength that whatever goes in it is taken quickly out of sight. Fighting a current so strong can be exhausting, and can make you weary. Just standing in it you can lose your footing, slip and be pulled along. Swimming against it can seem like you are getting no where at all, wasted energy with no forward movement….Ugh!

Everyday life can feel this way at times. It is hard to fight the current, especially the strong currents of a secular world. There seem to be so many worries and concerns, needs, desires and wants. Jobs to do, bills to pay, children to raise, houses to clean, yards to mow, dogs to walk, meals to cook …….Who’s on first?

At times I want to grab a tube, jump in and just float to wherever this current wants to take me. Why not? It is easy and everyone else is doing it. But it is important to remember where your strength comes from, as my sister and I like to say “Who’s driving this bus?”

Sometimes we need to take an emotional pause and remind ourselves where our true strength comes from…. Our God is a BIG God…..apply a little self care…..breathe…… in and out, and let go.  Of course there are times we get to go with the flow enjoying the ride,  but then there are other times when we might need to find the strength to fight the current to get to where we need to be, where we want to be. To accomplish something, take a stand or make a change or a difference. This takes strength, courage, faith and determination.

Living a life of faith doesn’t mean a life of ease at all times, it just means that we are blessed with God’s presence no matter which part of the river we find ourselves….the rapids or the glassy calm. Remember He might not always calm the rough water you are riding, but He can calm you and give you the strength to make it up the river and help to get to where you need to be.

Enjoy the journey knowing the only thing you ever needed you have always had, His presence!