Whatever floats your FLOAT!

So I went to the mountains this weekend to visit my parents and celebrate my nephew's first birthday!! (Yippee Henry!!). But, in the process, Heather, Robbie, my mom and I decide to go "tubing". For those of you who aren't from the mountains, this means that we were riding intertubes (like from tractor tires) down the river. The water levels are still down, so we couldn't go too far without getting stuck. We would have to dismount our floats and walk back upstream to deeper water to go down again. The water was quite chilly, but it was actually a very nice day to be floating. I've been around this river almost all my life, and I know there are some deep places and some places that over the years have just been "scarry" to me, so I don't tread in these areas. For instance, the other three trudged several yards farther than me upstream because I am, literally, afraid to go any farther, even though I see them and they are obviously head above water.

My mom had surgery on her ankles a few years ago and that was causing her to have trouble this dismount and resume mess. She doesn't have much strength in her legs due to all the atrophy after the surgery. What made it interesting was that Heather and I decided to tug her in her tube back upstream so that she could come back down with us. Otherwise, she would have had to have stopped "playing" with us. While we were pulling her, we were joking around and I said, "Whatever floats your float." We all just laughed. But, it got me to thinking. Pulling mom was no big deal. It was really no burden at all. The deeper the water got, the easier it got. And, believe it or not, I walked all the way to where they were before (the scarry place) to come back down again. I wasn't so afraid when I was pulling someone else.

It's the same with our fellowship and girlfriends. If you venture out alone in the river, you may find a place where you just don't want to go any farther because you are afraid of what lies ahead. But, when you are connected to those around you, they can help pull you through and even make the times when you are in "deep trouble" easier. In the process of helping each other, you'll learn more about yourself than you've ever known and go to places you never thought you'd reach because you're not scared anymore. They are there with you. (In a much deeper metaphor, this could be applied to the Trinity, but that's another depth for another day). Hope next time I'm in a float, I have my friends and family to help me along!!