Trust the Guide

I’ll never forget the terror I felt as the old, repurposed school bus rumbled down a dirt road towards the Rio Grande River. I was seven-years-old and about to go white water rafting for the first time.

The guide had just finished giving us the safety instructions, warning us, basically, that if we didn’t do as he said and follow his lead, we could die.

My little mind heard a definitive, “You will die.”

I innocently thought my life was about to come to an early end. I tried to hide my tears but I failed.

My dad, seeing the panic in my eyes, put his arm around me and said, “There is nothing to be afraid of. He’s been down this river a thousand times. He knows every bend and boulder. He knows how to navigate even the strongest rapids. All you have to do is trust him enough to follow his lead. If you do, this will be the adventure of a lifetime.”

It’s been decades since that rafting trip, but I’ve often felt like I was sitting on that bus again, paralyzed by what is to come. I don’t know what lies ahead. I don’t know the bends my life will take and I don’t know where jagged rocks and crushing boulders have settled just below the surface. I don’t know how to navigate the rapids.

But I have a Guide who does.

So do you.

Jesus has gone before you. He’s been down this river, crossed this road, descended this valley, conquered this mountain.

He knows you and loves you. He protects you and guides you. You can trust Him because He knows the way. You can follow Him because He is committed to bringing you safely through.

Where do you need to trust Him right now? What are you facing that seems insurmountable?

You are never alone. You have a trustworthy Guide. So, trust Him.

If you do, I promise it will be the adventure of a lifetime.

Quicksand

Most of my childhood was spent playing with my two brothers in the beautiful woods behind our house. We created elaborate imaginary worlds out there (think Bridge to Terabithia, only with less tragic endings). We had our own system of currency (usually rocks), our own medical practices (dirt and leaves, mostly), even our own sports (“mudboarding,” which involved gliding down the hills in our sneakers and only worked right after it rained). 

Our many hours in the woods also gave us this sense of survival – we had to take care of ourselves in the dangerous backcountry of our suburban home. (In reality, our parents could almost always see us through the living room window.)

Obviously, if we were going to survive in the deep wilderness, we needed survival books. Our favorite was The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook. You never knew when you’d need to escape the death-grip of quicksand. The first step, by the way, is to not panic which means I probably wouldn’t have made it to the second step.

I always thought quicksand would turn out to be a bigger problem in my life than it has been. I've actually never even seen quicksand, much less been stuck in it. Yet, the fear was there. I would often imagine what a horrible death that would be. I would imagine the feeling of utter loneliness as I sunk into the darkness. Morbid, I know.

I’m not afraid of quicksand anymore. I’ve outgrown that. 

I have adult fears now – about relationships, finances, and health. I spin my own worst-case scenarios. I catastrophize. I let my imagination run wild.

Nothing feeds my fear like my imagination.

Throughout my life, most of what I feared would happen never did.  Life hasn’t been perfect, by any means, but it also hasn’t been as tragic as I thought it would be.

Yes, there is real tragedy and real pain and real worst-case scenarios.

But, let's deal with those as they come and resolve to no longer waste ourselves on destructive fantasies.

Die Walking

One of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read is "The Lost City of Z," by David Grann. It tells of British explorer Percy Fawcett’s epic search in the early 1900s for the legendary city of Z, supposedly buried deep in the Amazon.

On one particularly treacherous venture into the jungle, Fawcett's exploration party ran out of food and, after days of trekking on empty stomachs, soon grew weak with hunger. More susceptible than ever to disease and infection, many developed severe fevers. Any hope of getting out alive, much less finding Z, began to deteriorate.

One of the men, unable to take another step under the weight of sickness and exhaustion, collapsed against a tree and begged Fawcett to leave him to die.

"No," said Fawcett. "If we die, we'll die walking."

If we die, we'll die walking.

Most of us will never explore the Amazon (though if you happen to be planning a trip, please take me with you). We probably won't ever face starvation or risk contracting malaria. The obstacles we face will be of a different sort.

But make no mistake. We will face obstacles.

We will face cancer and heart attacks and dementia.

We will experience layoffs and financial strains.

We will lose people we love.

When my earthly life expires and I stand before my God, I want to be able to say that I gave it everything I had. I trusted Him through the trials. I stayed faithful in the challenges. I didn't collapse in the difficulties.

I want to die walking.

How about you?