It's something I see everyday...

... and it reminds me that when I go my own way.... I will... face the consequences. 

Several years ago, when I was a bit more adventurous and had a lot more energy... I went canoeing with my husband and a couple of other friends.  My husband loved canoeing and he really wanted me to go even though I was recovering from a cold and virus.  "All you have to do is sit in the canoe, and I will do the rest,"  he said.  

We were canoeing down the river and having a great time when the wind started blowing.  We could see dark clouds forming in the distance... and knew a storm was coming.  We were in Columbia, South Carolina and knew the dangers of a sudden storm.  It was usually accompanied with thunder and lightening.  As we watched the clouds gathering around us, we knew we had to get out of the water as quickly as possible.  It was  not safe to find shelter under a tree during a lightening storm and we were surrounded by trees, yet, we definitely had to get out of the water.  The only thing to do was to portage our canoe upstream , through the swift current from which we came.   Hopefully, we would be able to reach our car before the storm reached us.

My husband insisted that I stay in the canoe and they would all push it upstream.  As I watched him and my friends,  struggle against the wind,  I decided that,  I... was a burden to them and demanded they let me out of the canoe to help.  My husband, being the protector that he is, tried to convince me that it was too dangerous for me... but, I would not listen.  I got out of the canoe anyway,  and started pushing.  I realized that the canoe really wasn't that heavy... it was the force of the wind and swift current that kept me struggling to move forward.  Still, I was determined not to let them know that I regretted getting out of the canoe, and if they could do it... I could do it. However, it was exhausting and took every ounce of energy that I had, though, I would not admit my weakness.

When we finally reached our destination and I could see the car,  "I was patting myself on the back.  I knew I could do it!"   We could only see the car, though, and the wind was blowing even stronger.  The current of the water kept trying to pull us away from the shoreline.  Eventually, little by little and step by step, I prodded my way through the water until I was able to emerge from being waist deep to ankle deep.  Just a few more feet... we were almost there.  That's when I blacked out and fell face down in the water, hitting my shin over a sharp rock.  I was so weak, I couldn't even stand.

My husband lifted me into his arms and carried me to the car.  He must have been extremely weak too,  yet with every ounce of energy he had left, "he carried me."  He bandaged the gash on my leg and applied first aid.  Five days later, I was still in a lot of pain with my leg and it was not getting better, it was getting  worse.  My underlying fear had come true... after seeing a doctor,  he told me it was indeed, infected.  

My husband knew when we left on the canoe trip what was best for me. "Just come along for the ride and I will take care of you."  But I insisted, or was determined to do things my way Because I wouldn't listen, I wound up with weeks of pain and a scar that I can see 30 years later.  

I have other scars too... the ones left from not listening to God ... demanding my own way.  We all carry those scars...  Isaiah 53:6 says;

"We all like sheep, have gone astray,

 each of us has turned to his own way;

 and the Lord has laid on him

 the iniquity of us all."

And, if we stop and listen, we can hear His words in Isaiah 30:20-21;

"Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity

  and the water of affliction,

  your teachers will be hidden no more;

  with your own eyes you will see them.

  Whether you turn to the right or to the left,

  your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,

  This is the way, walk in it."

"This is the way, walk in it."

May you walk in faith and love today as you listens to God's  voice of truth...