Lessons from the Lazy River

Who would have thought that the lazy river at my locaol pool could have taught me one of my MOST valuable life lessons. When you walk through that gate, towel in hand, a bag full of sunscreen AND suntan oil, your goal is to get your tan on....NOT be delivered from a life long way of processing the bumps and bruises the act of living throws at you. But this is exactly what happened to me a couple Summers ago when I was floating down my Local Lazy River. My breakthrough meant a lot to me then, but it means even MORE to me now considering the canSer diagnosis and other  "Bumps" life has thrown at me since.

Let me explain:

Here I was, just floating on my back with a clear inner-tube over my head. Yes. Picture that for a second. I am sure I looked CERTIFIABLE to most people in the pool, but OH WELL! It was comfy and I just can't be bothered with the judgement of other people. At least when it's not warranted, and me floating in my odd style was just my biz...no one else's! :) So there I am, floating on my back, all 500 or so lbs of me, my arms wrapped around a clear inner-tube. It's air filled walls of safety encircling my head, protecting it from bumps against the side of the pool. But that was about ALL it protected me from, and BOY was I getting MAD!!!

I kept getting tossed around by the current, smacked into this wall, my fingers grated against this one, shoved into a giant group of people who's kids had perfected the art of splashing and kicking strangers. Every second of my "Relaxing Lazy River Float" was pure torment, all because I couldn't control the flow of the river and where it was tossing me.

So I gave up.

I just stopped caring where it sent me.

I closed my eyes and just let the river take me where it wanted too.

What I found out during the next hour of float time really opened my mind to the way I dealt with life. I had always dealt with challenges in the same way I dealt with that stubborn lazy river, I would get ticked off at it and kick back! I would do my BEST to push AGAINST whatever it was that was pushing me. It was EXHAUSTING and I didn't enjoy one MINUTE of it! My whole life had been a series of moments I just HATED and they were ALL self induced!

While I floated there, working HARD at not letting the little bumps and splashes bother me, I realized how CALM I was. I realized the river is going in ONE direction, and no matter how much I kick or paddle, I am going to end up where that river did, with everyone else, so I might as well enjoy the ride and not let the little bumps, splashes and pile-ups bother me so much, it just wasn't worth it!! GO WITH THE FLOW was the lesson I took away that day. It has stuck with me ever since and has helped me decide in MANY situations how I should react. SOOOO grateful for that break through 2 years ago!

Fast forward to NOW! I have been thinking A LOT lately about what FAITH is. We all say, "JUST HAVE FAITH" or "I have FAITH that God will take care of it all!!" But what IS faith? Are we doing it right??

We know faith is a STRONG belief in something that is not tangible. Something unknown, that cannot be measured. Well, that to me sounds like my Lazy River!! I  had NO idea what I was going to bump into, no CLUE if I would get hurt or be challenged in some way. But what I DID know, is that the lazy river had a course, one that had been set into motion LONG before I got in the pool. There wasn't ANYTHING I could do to change it.

I started to see a pattern, and it began to make sense. Having FAITH is just going with the flow! You KNOW God has a plan for you. You have NO idea how that plan is going to end up, but you have two choices, you can whine and complain, kick against the pricks and make your journey down our river to eternity MISERABLE....OR you can just GO WITH THE FLOW! Find peace in the knowledge that your course is already set, and it's how you float that coarse that will determine if you have a happy life or not!

I KNOW I can find peace in this journey. The SECOND I stopped kicking back and crying at my situation and began to understand that the Lord loves me, he hears my prayers and the prayers of ALL of you that have so generously offered them up on my behalf. He KNOWS my heart. While taking the desires of my heart into consideration, he will guide me down the river. Sometimes he lets me hit a rock here, and a rapid there, but there is MUCH to learn in those situations. An education that could save my LIFE later on, or help MANY of those around me!

SO there ya have it. My most current break through. Faith is like a Lazy River! Give your worries up to God and just GO with the FLOW!! You will enjoy the ride a WHOLE lot more!!! :) (just wear a helmet sometimes)

xoxoxo to you all!!!
Thank you SO incredibly much for ALL of your Prayers and Support!! It means the WORLD to me!!