Tides and Currents

While taking a walk with Maggie I observed ducks on the stream. They are so pretty to watch. A few things I have noticed. When ducks see Maggie they have two choices, they can fly or they can let the current take them down stream. The first choice takes energy and the risk of being seen and heard.The second choice means they stay floating in the stream and let the current pull them under the branches where they blend in and can hide. They actually make it look fun! Made me think of when I would sit in an inner tube and float down the stream. It took very little effort on my part, just a lazy ride down the stream. I also thought about the riptide in the ocean. If you spent anytime in the ocean, the first thing you were taught, or should have been taught, was the riptide. It is to be respected at all times. You can't fight it. You can't out swim it, even if an Olympic swimmer. If you were taught correctly, you were taught to just relax, let it pull you out and then swim parallel to it. It really isn't as wide as you would think. Tides and currents change the course the streams, rivers and oceans take. They can overtime change the landscape they run through. If you lived near a stream in your lifetime, notice how the bends have changed the way it appears. If you spend time at the beach, you have noticed that certain times of the day, there is plenty of room to lay on the beach, other times it is almost completely covered with sand. It depends on whether the tide is low or high.

Here is the thought I had while watching the duck. It chose this day to let the stream do the work. It simply relaxed and left it take it to the middle and then gradually to the side that had low tree branches. Maggie never heard it or saw it. Safe for another day. It took zero energy for the duck. If I look closely I think it may have even smiled, do ducks smile? It outsmarted the dog. I was reminded that there are tides and currents in my life. Things that are happening in my life that if I fought them, they would consume me. It wouldn't bring any change to the outcome, just exhaustion on my part. Tides and currents are the events in my life I can't control. Whether it be health issues from time to time, kids growing up and getting ready to leave, my life as I know it about to change as a result of this and the things that cause anxiety or stress. They pull me in directions I don't want to go. I think if I try to change people, change situations, or work hard enough at something it will go my way. What could be more exhausting? I need to just relax and trust Jesus. He knows the tides and currents He places in my life and why He allows them. I could fight and fight, but I have not heard of one person who swam in a riptide, ever saying, "my strength in swimming changed the flow and I overcame it". No, they may have been very fortunate to hold up in the tide and were able to be rescued. But I promise you they didn't stop the current or change its path. God wants me and you to relax in His arms and trust. Just let the tide/current pull us in the direction He has already planned and let Him take care of the details. He may or may not change the current from time to time, but new currents keep coming. The way we handle them does not. Time and again we are to trust Him. When we get swept up in the waters and we try on our own to fight change or situations, does it ever work? Or when we say, this is out of my control, do we find the calm stream waters? We could choose option one, to flee. But that will only help temporarily, it is a very short fix. We can't fly(getting on an airplane) or run from life's issues. Read Jonah's account if you need a reminder of how well that works.

 I wouldn't want a life with everything calm and good. Why? Because it is in the storms, tides, and currents of life that make me thankful for the calm and good. They cause my faith to grow.  When I was about to be a mom for the first time, I was overwhelmed to say the least. Our daughters came home with monitors and high risk for everything! I hadn't signed up for that. I also thought foolishly, that boys would be so much easier to raise. I had to quit the job I knew and loved, to start a new one that I knew very little about. But all these years later, you know what? It was by far the best thing I have ever done! And it turns out, girls are awesome. They are my best friends, in that healthy mom and daughter sense. We text each other, laugh at our favorite TV shows, have awesome chats and enjoy going places together. I love spending time with them, but I also long to see them with their friends. I will never tire of their laughter and smiles. I told Bob recently, it was the best job I ever had. How do I know? Because it never felt like work, it was a joy to serve in that role.

My life is about to change again. I don't know what God has planned. Some days I am scared of what I will do with our kids gone and living the life God has planned for them.But that fear comes from not knowing what lies ahead. I know God has good and awesome things for me.  Our daughters are able to live here as long as they would like, but I know they are ready to start life on their own. It will be gradual, but once school is finished, life will be different. I am happy for them. I am excited and glad they are able to function on their own. I have been blessed beyond measure. I wouldn't want them to still need me on a daily basis. That would mean I didn't do my job well. Life brings changes and I am excited most days, but then there is the part of me that HATES change. What if, what is coming isn't as fun? What if I don't know what to do and drive my husband crazy!! I know in my heart that this really is only the beginning. There is so much more to come! I hear grandkids are awesome. My health has had its changes and I can't fix that or stop it. I could sit at home and feel sorry for myself, but that isn't living. As long as I have breath, I want to live not survive. The things that can stress me or give me anxiety, well, God doesn't take them away, but He has never not shown up, when I admitted I needed His help.

When in the current or tide you can be very fearful, because you don't know how far it will pull you. When in the tides and currents of life you don't know how long the situation will last until you feel it change. Both situations require that familiar word, TRUST.

I am going to try to relax in the SON and lay back and let the current pull me to the next place God has for me. He has never steered me wrong. I, on my own, have taken some very crazy detours. They are time wasters. I want to be like the ducks and just go with the flow. Here is hoping you are having a ducky day! Enjoy floating in the streams of life. Remember Psalm 23:2-"He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams."

I took these photographs in the Fall, not realizing I would use them in the winter. That is why there is still green grass and leaves on the trees.

Not super clear, but shows option one I speak of. Flying causes so much strength and effort.