The River

The River
On a hot day in early July I decided to take a break from the rat race. I packed up our things and headed north. I decided it was time to take my son canoeing, because I find it is the perfect antidote to a stressful life. The calming effect of the waves lapping against the river’s edge or as they rush over the rocks to create little rapids does wonders to our psyche. While drifting on the river’s currents, I realized the reason canoeing has this effect is the excitement of the rushing water as it carries us downstream, spending time with my son, and the peaceful landscape.
The flow of the river lulled us into complacency before it opened its wrath upon our canoe with its rapids. My son was easily caught up in its trance, and as he became distracted and lost focus on what was ahead. There in front of us were rocks and I swear he was in a conquering mood that day as he laughed at those unworthy obstacles. He beckoned them to stop us as if they were a threat to stop our voyage. Each collision with a rock, and there were many, his blood flowed with excitement of the triumph he had over each one. It was an awesome spectacle of savagery when the rapids flowed to conceal those pesky obstacles, as our little floating pod crashed into them. We were triumphant from the rocks as they scraped against the side of our canoe, and continued our adventure.
Canoeing is a great way to spend time with my son. We worked together to navigate the river and the surprises it had for us. We laughed at the river and its feeble attempts to sink our canoe with its rapids and rocks in precarious spots. My son and I had water fights with our paddles. As the paddles hit the water it sounded like a diver hitting the water with a belly flop. We gasped as the icy water hit our skin. We stopped along the way to indulge in a frosty beverage on that hot day. That frosty beverage tasted like heaven in the heat. We shared laughs about how the river tried, unsuccessfully, to keep us from our pilgrimage. There was no school or work here, just us and a canoe. Our stresses of life faded away.
The landscape along the river had a hypnotic effect that I found quite peaceful. The song of the river sang to us with its innocent sounds of life. Our minds were at ease, and unconcerned for life outside of the river. We breathed in the intoxicating aromas of the river and breathed out to the rhythm of our strokes. Branches from the trees overhung into our path. They clawed at our faces like some ravenous bird. Along the riverbank there were beautiful scenic views of fish swimming. Trees dotted along the shore like sentinels keeping watch over us. Rock formations jutted up from the earth showing us her teeth. The clear blue sky acted as her canopy. Truly, this was God’s way of refreshing and revitalizing us.
As we headed back to our lives of work, summer school, tutors, and other obligations that keep us tied up in this rat race, we are reminded of that river and its release of bondage to civilization. For a day we were lost in the blissful sounds, the excitement of rushing waters, and the fellowship of one another.