Canoe Trip

Yesterday late afternoon my friend, Joan, called and asked if we'd like to go canoeing with them today! We haven't been canoeing in years! But we used to love it, so I was ready to go right then! Jerry wasn't quite so ready but he came around! We have such fond memories of canoeing down rivers with friends and family. So we set the alarm for 6:00 AM...it didn't go off! Jerry woke up at 6:15 on his own, thank goodness. We were to meet Penn and Joan at 8:15 at a town near where they were camping. Jump now to arriving at the river...we boarded a bus which took us up river where we got in canoes to go on a 2 1/2 hour canoe ride. (It took us 3 hours!)
It was a sunshiny morning, crisp cool air at 9:30, when we arrived. We got in our canoe and were just getting settled and ready to paddle down stream...ooohhh, nnnooo! Here we go!!! We found ourselves in the water! We had hit a very large rock partially covered with water! Over we went! Luckily I had put my camera and cell phone in a zip lock bag in my camera case which was hanging around my neck! (We're now drying everything in Jerry's wallet, dollar bills, cards, pictures, etc.) Of course we were both soaked! The canoe was half full of water and had to be tipped up to drain. I couldn't help so Penn got out of their canoe and helped Jerry, it was a difficult job. There were three other canoes but on one else helped. They just stared at us! I had a box of Cheez It's and a box of Wheat Thins, the crackers were okay because they were sealed in plastic bags, the boxes were ruined.
So, okay, we'll start again. There were lots of large rocks we had to watch out for and the river was very shallow so we often scraped bottom! It was hard to relax and enjoy the scenery because we were watching out for rocks. We didn't want to tip over again!
Finally about half way down the river we were able to relax and enjoy the ride. It turned out a very nice day, quiet, and very relaxing, just going down the river with mainly trees on both sides of the river. Sometimes we were with Penn & Joan and sometimes we were by ourselves, just relaxing and enjoying each other's companionship. Of course we were still soaking wet! The sun was trying to dry us off. I got warm enough I very carefully took off my long sleeved shirt. I say very carefully because I didn't want to rock the canoe! I was actually paranoid. I was afraid to reach for the bag of snacks and water bottles, I might rock the boat! I was afraid to get my camera out...I might rock the canoe and lose my camera! So no pictures of the beautiful scenery, or of our friends in their canoe! Actually, I did take a chance near the end of our ride. I got my camera out and quickly took a picture of them, but in my hurry, and with the sun shining in my face, I couldn't see, so I cut their heads off! It's a nice picture of two headless canoe ers! I won't post it!
We passed the other folks in their canoes, we didn't know them, and one of the women said to me, "I'll bet this is your last canoe ride!" I replied, "Well, I don't know." She really made me mad. Just because we tipped over as we were starting out, does that mean we should quit? I think not. What would life be if we quit every time we fell down? I believe in getting up and keeping on...
Lord, thank you for today. Thank you for friends. Thank you for the beauty of the trees, flowers, butterflies and birds, the river, the beautiful blue sky, the quietness. Thank you for keeping us safe, and for giving us the desire and strength to keep going. I love You, Lord.