It was supposed to be a day like any other. We planned to camp and go whitewater rafting on the Saint Louis River. We had done this trip the previous year and had a glorious time. The one difference this year was we had a ton of rain this spring, and we would be launching from a different location than last year.
We knew we would have a few miles to paddle, so we ate a hearty lunch and fueled ourselves well! Our oldest son had not joined us last year, so we tried to educate him as best we could and told him he’d love it!
I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie myself, and I couldn’t wait for the rush of the rapids. The stretch of tedious paddling before we got there was when patience was tested! We soon learned we needed synchronicity more than strength. We learned different commands from our guide, and we learned to listen to his voice as he shouted. “Paddle,” the basic going easy, where you are all in unison and get more stride length as a boat in the water without exerting as much energy. Then there is the command to “Paddle hard!” which means to put your back into the stroke but still keep in sync with your people. Then another command of “PADDLE, PADDLE PADDLE” is just paddling with everything you have. It didn’t matter if you were in synch as much as to keep moving! Then there was “Paddle backward,” which was reverse, and the “left side” and “right side” calls depending on which side of the boat you were on. Those commands would help us do turns and spins.
As we neared the rapids, we practiced quite a bit of our commands and had a pattern of rowing down. Then we heard, “Paddle hard!” You felt your heart start racing, making you want to rush your pace of paddling away from the others in your boat. An experienced rower knows not to do this—to keep the adrenaline down and just breathe. We calmly kept the tempo and faced the tempest before us.
Our guide taught us to stay in the boat and avoid falling out. As water submerged over the edge, we
leaned a certain way, depending on when and where we were. We soon would be released, and the water would let go and move beyond the boat's buoyancy. We learned that our boat was a “safety” boat. Before we left, we were taught that if anyone fell out of their boats in our group, WE were to paddle to their rescue and learn how to pull up beside them, and someone in our boat would be designated to pull them in.
As we were going along, we got to experience river surfing. We took our boats into the backside of a small rapid and rode the waves. You have to hit the “entrance” just right where there are no rocks to get hung up on. Our boat got hung up, but we worked hard to get off the rocks, persevered, and conquered to come out and ride the waves!
It was a satisfying feeling to know we worked as a team so hard and made it through to break free and ride high. We then took a short paddle break at a beautiful rest area, where we learned we were approaching some nasty weather. We could row out of it if we rowed fast enough. So we left quickly as the sky grew more gray by the minute. We paddled on, listening to our guide as we approached more rapids.
We listened and waited for his commands. Then something happened. Another boat's guide fell out. We rushed to their aid and assisted. We grabbed his paddle and got him back to his boat.
We experienced a few more amazing rapids, and it started raining. Not too far away, lightning and thunder began. We continued paddling and had four miles we were supposed to paddle, but we would make an emergency exit early as the winds increased.
As we rounded a turn, we suddenly found ourselves in an open area where the rain was coming down in a torrential downpour, and the winds started to push against our boat and any progress we were making. It was shallow in some areas, with rocks we would get hung up on and deep in others. We needed to get to the far shoreline 500 feet away, a wall of rip-rap rock with a ledge at the top.
We heard over the wind and rain, “PADDLE, PADDLE, PADDLE.” I was so spent, and I knew my kids were, too. They were distracted and not exactly paying attention to our guide. My husband and I would keep encouraging them and relay the commands from behind. We reminded them that the more we worked as a team, the sooner we would reach the shore. Forget what was happening around us; focus on the objective at hand. Our goal was to get out of the storm and be safe.
We were the last boat to reach the muddy and deep shoreline. My feet sunk into the mud with each step as we walked to the rocky beach of reeds.
Strangers from other boats helped us reach the top of the rip rap and climb over the wall to walk the bluff. We then had to walk a mile to the bus, carrying our gear. We were wet, exhausted, and chilled.
I reflected as I walked. None of us could have made it alone. We needed each other.
The person who fell out of his boat needed others to see his need and pull him back in. That made me start thinking. Am I the kind of person who sees people hurting and in need? Do I reach out? Am I a giver or a taker? Would I pull him or her into my boat?
Then, I started pondering the speed of paddling. When the storms of life come, it’s not a time to just panic.
Storms come to us all. What we do in the storms shows our grit and character.
We cannot face our storms alone. We need a team in our boat: family and friends we can count on and trust for advice and counsel who will row with us constantly in prayer and encouragement.
I had some moments during the storm in my boat. My son, Josiah, means so well, but he didn’t have his hands very far apart on his paddle at times, so he wasn’t digging the paddle into the water but just hitting the surface. It caused me to be splashed in the face a lot behind him!
I find this funny now, but it complicated our rhythm and synchronization during the storm. Plus, I was pretty much drowning between the rain and the splashing, and I couldn’t see! If you have someone who is not paddling compatibly with you, you could drown when the going gets tough. They might mean well, or maybe they are toxic. They could be distracting you from your purpose, causing you to not see your true objective, just like my vision blurred during the storm. Whatever your situation, it is crucial to do what is best for you.
Most importantly, who is your guide? Whose voice are you letting dictate the calls for the storms of your life? When the paddling is easy, it’s not too hard, but when the bumps come, and we get hung up on the rocks, we get tested to see if we can listen to our guide and persevere through. When the rapids get faster, and the busier it gets, will you withstand the pressure and persevere with everything coming at you? Remember, to river surf, you have to listen closely to their commands and trust your guide completely, knowing they know precisely the way to bring you through and help you ride the waves of life. The storms are temporary, but the river is worth riding. So give it all you’ve got!
Until Our Next Adventure,
Lizzie ❤️