Life is but a stream

When we are born we are placed in a small boat and set upon a stream. This beautiful stream is flowing down stream and all around the stream is beauty and wonder. The further we travel down the stream we begin to encounter small twists and turns along with some mild rapids. Yet it’s still a very nice place to be. Still further on though we encounter some rapids that cause us to sit up, pay attention, hold on and learn how to navigate them. Most of the time we are sailing down the stream enjoying our time and all the amazing things we experience along the way.

Then suddenly up ahead we notice we are approaching rough waters. We brace ourselves, hold tight to our little boat and use the skills we have to guide our way through. Once we’ve gotten through we are back to smooth sailing again. There are times, however, we may come around a bend and there are rapids we weren’t expecting. Again we hold tight to our little boat and do our best to manevuer through it all.

Along the way there may come a fork in the stream. We can see one way seems calm and uneventful. The other we notice has rapids that appear to be the fun ones. Some may chose the way of the rapids. This stream starts out with fun rapids and it does seem fun and exciting but then the rapids become more treacherous than anticipated. This choice has brought us into unknown waters and we are afraid. It’s getting harder and harder to hold on to our little boat because the stream is taking us farther and deeper than we thought it would. Although our little boat is strong, because of the path we chose we are faced with large jagged rocks. Our boat crashes into one and we are tossed into the icy cold of reality. We struggle to swim and stay afloat as we have gotten carried away. It’s possible that now we may go under never to resurface. It’s also possible that we may reach a rock and hold on for dear life begging for mercy. Fortunately another boat comes along. We grab hold and hoist ourselves inside with all our might. Sitting there we are grateful for another chance, another boat to rescue us from the wrong path we took. As we sit in our boat, the bright sun warming us, we have time to reflect on the decision we made and the lesson learned.

There will be times the stream will no longer be going down stream, it has shifted and now we are faced with going upstream. We put out the oars and row with all our might. We grow weary and it seems as if there is no end to going upstream. Eventually we can see far enough ahead to see it will level out and we have hope we will soon go downstream once again. At last we reach downstream and as we sit back to rest a while we notice how strong our arms have become. We know now that if we should be faced with another upstream we will be stronger and better prepared to handle it,

This stream also has little whirlpools strung throughout. We will get caught in these from time to time. Here we will be circling around and around seeming to go nowhere. We jab and push with our oars trying to escape but it seems the stream will not release us from the hold of the whirlpool. Eventually at just the right time a wave will come along right as we near the exit and off we go down the stream again.

There can also be times when we are blissfully floating along and an unexpected wave will come and upend our little boat and under we will go and that will be the end of our trip. But that is just the nature of the stream.

As we continue our journey down the stream we will experience all the ups and downs of the passage of this stream.

Inevitably there will be a time when your stream will reach an end. The stream will be reduced to only a small trickle of water that can carry you no further. At this point you will step out of your little boat, turn and look back at this mighty stream that you traveled filled with wonder, chaos, beauty and challenge. It is then you will look down at your little boat and realize your little boat was the love of God all along.

Gena Mayer

1/24/2020

The Shade Tree Writer