Last week Steve and I were invited to join in on a river trip with a young women group that Ashley's been working with all summer. We went up to Jackson Hole to run a section of the Snake River. While it was relatively mild, there was a rapid that managed to spill at least one person from all three of our boats. Steve was having such a wonderful time that he was totally unaware of the gal behind him going overboard. When we saw these pictures, I was laughing so hard at the look on his face...it is one of pure joy!
It was so great to spend three days hiking, camping, swimming, talking, singing and goofing off with these girls!
We love all of them (this is only about half the group) and they have brought a lot of love and happiness into our lives.
Lessons learned from the river:
If you fall overboard, we will pull you back in. We will lift you up from your shoulder straps. We've got your back.
You have to listen carefully to the guide to know when to dig in deep with your paddle, and when to rest. He will tell us when to paddle, and when not to paddle. Meanwhile, he is watching the flow of the current and is guiding us to a proper placement to safely run through it. Listen to the guide, he knows the way!
Some rapids are bigger when there is more water, and some are bigger when there is less water. We cannot control the level of the water, but we can control where in the river flow we are.
These were just a few things I thought about in connection with life. I thought a lot about the Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can change, and the wisdom to know the difference.
These days, I'm trying to operate with that in mind, and with this:
Just love them.
