During the summer, my wife Missy and I took a vacation to Helen , Georgia and stayed in a fabulous cabin. My sister Sherri, her husband Michael and their children Rachel and Jacobs pulled their camper to Unicoi State Park .
Throughout the week, we had a blast doing things together as a family. We celebrated Michael's birthday. We hiked up to Anna Ruby Falls . We explored and had many memorable adventures. My favorite one was when my nephew Jacob and I went kayaking down a portion of the Chattahoochee River .
I love to go whitewater rafting every Spring as a chaperone with our 10th grade class at Bulloch Academy . We go down the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River with Wildwater Outfitters. One Spring, many years ago, I was the "guide" in our raft of boys and I loved it. We did not follow the group of rafts ahead of us, got stuck in the middle of the river and had over various adventures. But, I have always remembered that as the best time I've ever had.
I wanted to go whitewater rafting on this vacation. Only my Jacob was up for it. See, he and his mother had taken a kayaking class at the Statesboro-Bulloch County Recreation Department a couple of years ago but he had never really been on a challenging event. This, it turned out, was it. Wildwood Outfitters rented us two sit-on-top kayaks, gave us paddles, helmets and life vests, showed us a map of the section of the river, took us upriver several miles, put our kayaks in the water, adjusted our feet straps and our knee harnesses and said goodbye.
We were off on a five-mile trip down river. OK, I was a little nervous. I had never kayaked before but I was a good paddler and had some experience navigating whitewater. In the calm water, I experimented with the kayak and found that you can't move from side to side too much or else you would capsize. And paddling a kayak is a whole lot different than paddling a boat.
There were only small, Class II rapids, a lot of shoals and the river was low so went scraped the bottom on numerous occasions. I lost my paddle trying to navigate the second set of rapids and had to "paddle" with a tree branch for about an hour and a half. I capsized twice, face-planted on a big rock (that's where I lost the paddle) and had other scrapes and bruises on my knees and elbows. At the end of the two-hour adventure, I was tired and frustrated and hungry. But, I would have done anything differently (other than losing my paddle). We had a fantastic time!
Life, especially for a Christian, is like a river. There are twists and turns, high spots and low spots, avoidable and unavoidable obstacles. There are patches of rough water and patches of smooth sailing. There are rocks and trees which must be navigated over and around. There are decisions to be made about which way to go; right, left or straight. There are times when the water looks calm and smooth only to hide the perils of sharp stones or sandbars.
And, like we did in the Chattahoochee River , Christians will be both successful and unsuccessful in their journeys. Sometimes the way is clear and the sailing is smooth. Sometimes, we hit obstacles and fall or become ensnared and trapped. Other times, we need only to dip our paddles in the water to stay straight and on course. And other times, we have to paddle for our very lives lest we are pounded by obstacles. You will see many things on your journey, some being very familiar but others that you may have never encountered.
Jacob and I had a wonderful time on our journey down the Chattahoochee . The lanky 16-year old performed well in his kayak, much better than his Uncle Rahn. He remembered his training and used it. His paddling was fluid and smooth. He was level-headed and made good decisions when faced with the obstacles....I was so very proud of him. I pray for God to grant him the knowledge to navigate the rapids and pitfalls that the Devil puts in his way. I pray for him to make the right choices on which way to go.
And I pray for each of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Rahn Hutcheson
