You Can't Just Float Through Life

Last week Cherilyn's BF and family came for a visit and we decided to do some fun things while they were here.  I think we might have done a few more fun things if life hadn't gotten in the way but that's just how it goes sometimes. The dogs and the puppies sometimes demand your attention and since they pay the bills, we give it to them. We had 2 litters born while we had company, one without issue and natural, one c-section.  Along with that, one puppy had to go in for surgery. (everything is OK there, nothing out of the norm.)

One of our adventures was a canoe trip down the James river, which is more of a creek at most points.  You would think with all the rain we had this spring, the river would be flowing and be nice and deep, NOT the case.  Several spots along our trip were quite shallow and required actually getting out of the canoe and pulling it along a bit until a deeper part of the river was reached. Fortunately, I have dropped a few pounds and well, you've seen Cherilyn - so let's just say the front of the canoe never had an issue with being too low. :)

Given the water conditions, we had a little work involved in our trip.  Not complaining, work is good, builds character and muscle! In some areas of the river, the water was almost stagnant, which required almost as much paddling as some areas where you had to paddle vigorously to avoid a tree or rock in the middle of the river.  This got me to thinking about how we go through life. We are here for a purpose but fortunately we are not alone, we have guidance and help to get through life.  God does not hang us out all alone to get through this life. He has provided goals and incentives and tools, all of which make it possible to get through this life.  He has given us a canoe to be in (the gospel) with an oar to help us guide our way though (the scriptures). He even makes the water tolerable for when we need to be in it in order to get our canoe going and out of the sand bar. (In this case the river was nearly 80 degrees. This felt cool because the air temperature was 98)  Think of what it would have been like if the river water were only 50 degrees?  The goal of the canoe trip was to float downstream to the end of the run - spiritually speaking, our goal in this life is to get through it in order to live with Him again.  If we just allowed the current to take us, we might hit a rock or a tree.  In places where the current was almost nonexistent, we would not progress.  So, we have our oars but we have to use them.  We have to work in order to obtain the goals we set and the things we seek.

Here are some pics from the trip :)