Stay calm and listen
From the desk of Celia Tucker, Academic College Counselor:
There I sat in my wet suit, my wet suit water shoes, my wet suit life jacket, my wet suit crash helmet, and every other item associated with a wet suit.
鈥淩ule #1,鈥� the guide said, 鈥淪tay in the raft.鈥�
鈥淩ule #2,鈥� he followed up with, 鈥淧ay attention to your guide.鈥�
There I sat on my way up the mountain paying very close attention to the safety presentation which included phrases such as, 鈥淚f you have a heart condition or any weak part on your body鈥攌nees, shoulders, legs, arms, ankles, wrists鈥攖hen white water rafting is not for you.鈥�
鈥淚f you do fall out of the boat into the 35 degree water, do not stand up as the rocks will cut and mangle your legs and feet. We need to go over some sign language phrases so that we will know that you are either okay or that we need to call an ambulance if you fall out of the boat and get separated from everyone else.鈥�
There I sat with counseling colleagues who were half聽my age ready for team building at its best and the soon to be experience of a lifetime. We arrived, unloaded the bus, chose teams of five, got in the raft, practiced commands on land – 鈥渇orward one,鈥� 鈥渇orward two,鈥� “back one,鈥� “back two,鈥� 鈥渓eft side right side,鈥� – got out of the raft, carried the raft to the water, got in the raft, secured our feet, and we were off.
Throughout the swiftly moving, water saturated journey downstream, we dodged rocks, hit rocks, jumped over rocks, twisted and turned, never let go of our paddles, and basically went wherever the river wanted us to go. The river, and our guide, was pretty much in control of the entire situation. As we traveled, we had close encounters with other rafts but one encounter, in particular, really hit home for me. It wasn鈥檛 the “within an inch of our lives almost collision part” that had such an impact, it was what our guide said.
Our guide was awesome. With 12 years of experience in helping individuals live through the whitewater rafting experience, we felt comfortable with the fact that he knew what he was doing. He positioned himself in the back of the raft so that he could see exactly what was going on; he used his paddle as a rudder to guide, direct and ground us; he trained us before we left and gave clear instructions along the way; and without a shadow of a doubt we knew that he was ruler and king of the boat.
Throughout the ride he gave commands – 鈥渇orward one,鈥� 鈥渇orward two,鈥� “back one,鈥� “back two,鈥� 鈥渓eft side right side. We had been trained and were familiar with the commands. When he spoke we executed.
Except this time. This time was different.
As the swift water had us rapidly descending downstream, we rounded the corner and saw two other rafts solidly stalled in the rushing water, firmly planted side by side – right where we were approaching at breakneck speed. Our raft was silent. We were waiting. Then he spoke.
鈥淩emain calm and listen,鈥� he said. 鈥淩emain calm and listen,鈥� he repeated.
Because he had never prefaced directions with those words before, we knew this situation was unlike the others. 鈥淔orward one鈥攆orward two鈥攑addle hard,鈥� and up and over and straight through those two boats we proceeded to sail. What looked like a disaster became a success.
鈥淩emain calm and listen.鈥�
How many times in my life journey have I dodged rocks, hit rocks, jumped over rocks, twisted and turned, had uncomfortable close encounters and ‘within an inch of my life almost collisions?’
Those words kept coming back to me over and over. I thought to myself – how many times has the Lord said, “Remain calm and listen?” Am I listening to the One who is purposely positioned to see exactly what is going on in my life; the One who is my Guide, my Director, my Ground; the One who has trained me in His Word with very clear instructions; the One who is my Ruler and King; the One who turns potential disasters into success?
As we send our well prepared Class of 2017 off into the world and look forward to welcoming all of our future graduates to a brand new year, I am again SO excited and committed to following the rules:
Rule #1: I am remaining calm.
Rule #2: I am listening to King Jesus.