It's 8 am on an early September day. My husband and I exit our home, locking the door behind us, and load up our cooler and bags into the truck, on which is perched our trusty old canoe. My forehead wrinkles as I scan the expanse above. Unlike yesterday, the skies are full of clouds, obscuring most of the blue sky I was hoping for. The tree branches, having been listless for several days under the hot late summer sun, are swaying in the morning breeze. I notice the river in front of our home is looking a little agitated.
I wonder to myself whether it's a good idea to go canoeing on the river today. After all, today the weather app says thunderstorm warning for 2 pm. The little icon with the cloud, lightning rod, and rain drops disease my mind. Literally dis-ease! I analyze every hour listed on the weather network app. I'm almost feeling obsessive. My husband doesn't seem worried at all. "Promise me we can change our mind if we drive to our starting point and the conditions are too iffy for canoeing". He nods, continuing to carry our cooler and bag out the door, but I know he's only thinking about leaving soon so our friends don't have to wait for us.
We arrive at our meeting point, and I greet my friend. "Weather's a lot different from yesterday", I say, as I pull on my hoodie. We both scan the skies. "Yeah, she says, "I wasn't too sure about today. I don't mind a little rain, but I don't want lightning. But Barry says there's nothing to worry about"
We both laugh. Of course he would say that. Nothing stops Barry! He sees the fun, not the fear!
"And you won't believe what I read in the Psalms this morning", I say. "Psalm 124... the waves will not overwhelm me.. She throws her head back in laughter. "For real?" she asks. I nod several times.
"See, there's nothing to worry about" says Barry, chuckling. "The Lord will protect us!"
"But I don't want to be caught in a storm!" I respond.
Isn't that the story of my life! I see the possible dangers, the what-ifs, the problems. Instead, I could focus on the possibilities and the adventure.
"I don't want to be a Debbie Downer", says my friend, "but that's better than being a Debbie Down Under!" she adds. We both laugh. We are on the same page.
The men unload the two kayaks and the canoe and place them on the shoreline. We load up our belongings, don our lifejackets and step carefully into our watercrafts. I settle myself at the front of the canoe and grab my paddle. The air is calm and the clouds that earlier seemed ominous, look quite benign, almost beautiful. We push off from shore and our canoe glides forward. Reach, dip, pull. Reach, dip, pull. Our adventure begins.
And what ensues is a day of perfect paddling weather - not too hot, not too cool. Very little wind. About four drops of rain. Calm waters. Good company. Picturesque scenes. Several people fishing from their boats. Birds - osprey, eagles, mergansers, geese, herons. And llamas on the river shore! A welcome mid-paddling lunch stop on an isolated sandy beach on the little river island.
How could I have been that close to considering cancelling our river paddling day?
I know that God speaks within the details of my everyday life. Today I think he was probably chuckling a little as I read Psalm 124, and also rooting for this woman who spends more time in the past and future than in the present moment.
Oh, dear child, you are worried about so many things. But there is only one thing needed.
