God Is my Kayak

The inlet off the ocean where I kayak is one of the few deep water channels in Hilton Head where large boats can still enter at low tide. Therefore, lots of boats go by while I am kayaking looking for dolphins. They often create quite large wakes and waves that toss me about like a toothpick. I would be terrified, except I have kayaked for many years now, and know that even those large waves cannot capsize me. I have learned how to approach them at about a 45 degree angle and just roll in them. They don't frighten me at all, and in fact, are a lot of fun.

However, I remember the first time I went on a lake and was rocked by a motor boat wake. I was petrified. I was certain that in no time, I would be at the bottom of the lake, fresh fodder for the leeches and snapping turtles. Yesterday, as I was rocking on some very large waves, I reminisced about those early days of terror and knew God was preaching...again.

Sometimes, what seems very terrible, and calamitous is only because we have no experience. We feel we cannot possibly survive whatever awful thing God is making us endure because we have never endured it before, and it seems insurmountable. Then we discover...we can. The best part of coming out on the other side of something we didn't realize we could do, is now we realize, we could. Sometimes, we are even grateful we braved the unknown trial, discovering that it was among the most satisfying times of our life.

To be honest, unlike riding the waves in a kayak, not all overcoming adversity could be described as fun exactly, but it could be described as victory. I think perhaps God was reminding me that victorious living requires experiencing life at times in some rather frightful circumstances.  When God brings us safely through them, we can trust that He is able to keep us afloat. Perhaps learning to trust in Him is the object, and we can't trust Him if we are certain we can do it on our own. He must bring us to places where self-sufficiency fails, and He must do it often enough that we realize He never leaves us up a creek without a paddle.

If only I could remember this the next time God sends tsunamis into my life. If only I could envision how violently my little kayak rocks on those giant waves, but always remains upright, and then, picture God as my kayak.
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Proverbs 3:5 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Romans 8:28 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Psalm 37:4-6 

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Proverbs 3:6 

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.