Getting Wet

I have a friend who had a dream. In the dream he was zooming and zipping down a whitewater rapid. He had no life jacket. He was gulping in water. He thought he was going to die. In fact, in the dream, he said to himself, “I think I am going to die.”

Just then, he felt something in the water. At first, he thought it was a branch. But when he grabbed it, he discovered that it was a rope ladder. He held onto it for dear life and pulled himself exhausted to safety.

He woke up with a start. It was one of those wake-ups-with-a-starts that doesn’t bode well for getting back to sleep. So instead he went to his office (my friend worked at a church) and he decided to “keep the Lord company” as he liked to say.

He started thinking about the dream he had. Inside as he was thinking he heard a voice ask him, “What did you think about the dream?”

He said, “It sure was fortunate there was a ladder I could grab onto to get out so I could save my life.”

Then, my friend heard that voice inside himself say, “What if I told you the river was ME?”

I don’t know about you but I don’t like the feeling of being out of control. I don’t like the experience of being afraid. And I don’t like the idea of pain. I avoid such things.

I don’t go to scary movies. I don’t do well with confinement. Last week I got stuck on the seventh floor of a building during an unplanned fire alarm and couldn’t get out – not my favorite.

But sometimes I wonder if my avoidance reflex is one thing that keeps me from experiencing God?

What do I mean? I mean what if the scary thing I try to flee is actually where God wants to meet me? What if that out of control place is the place where God wants to take control? What if that painful thing is really where God wants to heal me?

What if the River is God?

My friend said to the voice he was hearing, “Lord, if the river is you, I will jump back in. If it’s you, I want all of you that you will give me. I trust that wherever you take me is where you want me to go. I promise to enjoy the ride. Bring it on.”

So he jumped back in.

What about you? Are you ready to get wet?