The River of Life 

   I grew up in a small town in western Kentucky.  Finding fun things to do can be a challenge in a small town, especially things that don’t involve getting into trouble.  I must admit that my friends and I did a bit of both.

   From time to time we would go to the nearby river to picnic and spend the day swimming.  I suppose today most kids would turn up their nose at swimming in a “nasty” river full of fish and who knows what else.  But we had a good time and never got any weird diseases or infections.

   Thinking back on those days I came to realize something that never occurred to me as a kid; every time I stepped into that river I was stepping into different water.  The water that was there only a few seconds ago was now down river, replaced by water coming from upstream.

   Life is a bit like that river, it goes where it flows, and the water never returns.  We enter that river never knowing where it might take us; but take us it will.  The river is the will of God, and we are a tiny vessel trying to navigate it to our final destination, His kingdom.

   There will be rough waters and dangers to face.  We can’t avoid them, we must instead endure and overcome them.  We will be tested and tried and tempted by Satan along the way, but if we place our trust in God and allow our vessel to be carried along on His will we will reach our goal of eternal life in His presence.