“Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21
The text came through from my friend asking if I wanted to go whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. My immediate thought was YES, followed by a series of anxious thoughts like…what if I can’t do it? I seriously have no upper body strength. What if I get thrown out of the raft? What if I'm not good at it?
Another quieter voice posed: What if you love it?
In the end, that inner spirit of adventure won out as I decided it was something I wanted to do and that I wasn’t going to let fear dictate my actions. I texted my friend to sign me up and imagined the fun that would soon await us.
It was about two weeks later as we were sitting in the pre-rafting orientation, that I wondered what exactly I had gotten myself into. The guy up front was talking about how to properly put on your life jacket (more than just clicking the pieces together), the multi-step procedure if you fall out (wait, what...I thought that was just me being me), and how if you don’t hold your paddle correctly, the person sitting next to you could lose teeth (gulp). Signing a heap of papers including a waiver and medical/emergency info added yet another level of nervous excitement. As the orientation wrapped up, the guy called out, “Some win and some swim.” I laughed along with the group, but on the inside, I was trying to remember everything I was supposed to do if it turned out I was in the “some swim” category.
Next, we got helmets, life jackets, and paddles and boarded an incredibly hot and cramped bus. At least all of us were on this adventure together. We curved around the mountain roads getting occasional glimpses of what we were about to do ourselves. We unloaded and were assigned to our rafts. My group was in raft number 5 with Cole!
Cole positioned us in the raft and gave us a crash course in rafting 101. We paddled, we spun, we went backward, we leaned in and we practiced huddling down in the raft so as not to fall out in particularly rapid rapids. The goal was to work together as a team and move as one. Finally, it was time to start our adventure down the Ocoee River. I took a breath, looked at the river before me, and tightened my grip around the paddle. This was it.
“We approach our first class 4 rapid pretty quickly,” Cole called out. “Just do what I tell you and we’ll make it through fine.” He called out instructions and we paddled and suddenly we were in the rapid. Water surged around us and splashed onto us as we zipped through the current. Just as quickly as it had started, it was over, and I was all smiles. After making it through that first rapid I knew I could do this and that it was going to be a fun ride.
Cole was encouraging as he told us what to do at each bend in the river and each rapid. He helped us avoid rocks and not fall out. At the end of the journey, he told us that we did an awesome job and had a very clean ride. The reason for our success—we listened to the voice of our guide and allowed him to direct us through the twists and turns. We wouldn’t have been able to navigate them as well on our own, but Cole was experienced with the river. He knew the strokes to make, the places the rocks were located and the direction we needed to head at each fork along the way. He even knew what to do to get us back in the raft if we did fall out or got stuck.
As I looked up at the mountains around me and took in the beauty of the day, I couldn’t help but think how rafting had so many life lessons packed into it and how it was the perfect picture for finding success in our everyday lives.
We encounter those kinds of moments often in life where we think what if I can’t do this thing I am being called to do? What if the unknown twists and turns are too much? What if I fall or worse, what if I fail? What if I get it all wrong? What if it’s too much?
It’s in those moments that we can lean in and listen for the voice of our guide, the Holy Spirit. God knows the strokes we need to make in the water, the rocks we will come up against and the direction we need to paddle. If we will tune our ears to focus on His voice, He will lead us through any challenge we face. And we can come out on the other side having experienced an adventure (we would have otherwise missed) because we choose to walk with God instead of clinging to fear.
It seems like a simple lesson, but I remember thinking how profound it was that day as I went down the river. When I’m chasing what I want, I don’t always stop and listen for what God wants and in that, I’ve found myself needlessly paddling against the current, instead of riding through it. I’ve exhausted a lot of energy when I could have been floating. Who better to trust than the One that intimately knows every rock, every rapid, every heartache, every challenge, and every inch of the journey? The One that knows every part of the story? When we relinquish our agendas, desires, dreams, problems, and hurts, Jesus will navigate us through the tough things. When we let go of trying to do it ourselves, we will find a strength beyond what we imagined. That day on the river, I was reminded that sometimes we must let go in order to go through.
He promises to see us through in Isaiah when He says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, Your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:2-3)
I loved every minute of the rafting trip and I’m so glad I was able to go and be a part of it. I want to remember the things I learned that day in the future when things look uncertain, or when the unknowns of life crash over me like water. I want to remind myself that sometimes saying yes to the adventure is scary, but it is worth the ride. Every breath-taking, beautiful, fun-filled moment.
I hope you too will have courage as your story unfolds. I hope you will learn to lean in and listen to where the guide is leading you. I hope you will say yes when it’s the right thing for you despite the fear that may envelop you. And I hope you have the time of your life—in full and complete surrender. Grip the paddle, not the fear. And go forward into the adventure you are being called to endeavor.
-Only Hope
Candace, thanks for inviting me on this adventure! I enjoyed it so and loved spending the day with you. Cole, Drew, Collin, and the University of Alabama Crew, what a blast! We will always have conversations about movies, ghosts in graveyards, our souvenir pictures, and so much more. And we can fondly remember eating Chattanooga pizza and cinnamon bites together! Thanks for paddling hard, making sure I didn't fall out, and going on the ride! :)
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