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| One of summers' joys. |
I believe swimming is an essential part of any
successful summer. Growing up, I lived near
some of the best swimming the planet has to offer. Fresh or salt water never mattered, as long
as the day included swimming it was a happy one. Which is how last week, I ended up on a river
as part of an inner tube flotilla with 11 of my closest relatives. The weather held at a surprising 90 degrees
the entire week, making a run to the river a necessity. Vacations have a way of taking on a rhythm of
their own and my family was happy to putz away the morning and swim in the
afternoon. After lunch was made,
devoured and the dishes put away, the masses would head to their rooms, don their swim
suits and jump into cars to be whisked away for a magical afternoon of relief
from the soaring temperatures.
I’m not a super hero or anything but the fact that I
own an electric pump made me popular when we got to the river. Ten minutes of inflating tubes, finding
goggles and handing out water bottles and we would march down to the river to
ready ourselves for our adventure.
Anyone who has tubed down a river will tell you that
there is a skill to knowing which side of the river you should be on as it
winds its way through the landscape. Our
guide, a fresh water enthusiast, shouted directions as the kids screamed and
launched their tubes into the current. Tubing
is a nice way to spend time with family.
You can start out with one person and after a twist and a turn, find
yourself with another family member as the water decides your journey. I was getting along with the water for the
most part and helping my youngest manage some rapids, when she decided I was
heading in the wrong direction and launched herself off my tube in order to avoid some
rocks. I’m not sure how she did it, but a kick of her
flippers and I spun off on my own into a side eddy that took me to a large flat
rock shelf where I promptly lost all momentum.
I sat for a moment looking at the blue sky, watching
family members float by when I realized that I was in a dead spot. I would have to maneuver my
inner tube back into the current. I
steadied myself and hopped out of my tube into waist deep water. The rock shelf was slippery and I shuffled
along the ridge in order to position myself to reenter the current. A fish caught my attention and I followed him
for a few steps when I noticed a pattern in the water. Squinting, I bent down for a better look and
decided my curiosity merited the cold I was about to experience. I plunged into the water to grab at the shape
and came up gasping with a brand new iphone.
Not what I was expecting.
I jumped into my tube and pushed off the ledge and
entered the current again. I wasn’t
worried about catching up anymore; I was trying to figure out how an $1,100
phone became part of a salmonid spawning ground. Turns out I didn’t have to guess for long
because the case for this brand new iphone held “Mike’s” visa, debit card,
driver’s license and work ID. It was all
sort of weird. I was out in the middle
of a river and managed to find some dude’s phone. I knew enough about water and electronics to
know that I needed to power the thing off immediately, though I didn’t expect
it would still be working. I stuffed the
phone in the plastic bag holding my keys to keep it out of the water until I
left the river. Hitting the current
sideways I started to spin in circles and I realized I needed to pay attention
to the river before I hurt myself. I
shoved the plastic bag into my top and straightened myself out when my cleavage
started to ring.
“You have got to be kidding!” I said to my chest.
My chest responded by ringing some more.
At this point, I started shouting because that is what
you do when you shove a brand new phone in your top and it starts ringing. Water was everywhere, and I was trying to get
the phone out of the bag to talk to the person who was calling me. “HI!”
I shouted into the stupid thing. “I
JUST FOUND YOUR PHONE!” It was a woman
on the other end of the line and she was shouting too, except she was happier
than I was. For reasons I can’t explain,
but I suspect had to do with water, I couldn’t hear the woman on the line very
well. I deduced that this was Mike’s
mother. I gave her my number and said
that we could meet up later when I got out of the river. I was in shallow water now and the rocks
causing the rapids were getting bigger.
I needed to get off the phone before we both ended up in the shallows again. In truth she called me back as I was getting close to my family because she hadn’t hear me properly the first time. After slamming my posterior into a couple of
boulders, I have to confess I was starting to feel persecuted.
I caught up with my family and showed them Mike’s new
phone. We all agreed that he shouldn’t
have taken his phone swimming; though we had proof that the iphone X was just
as water proof as they claim. According
to Mike’s mother he lost it the day before and she had been calling it
continually. That left an odd picture
in my brain at which point I decided life was too complicated for people like
myself. I stuck the phone in the bag in
my sisters dingy in order to give us both some space.
Our afternoon at the river continued with swimming,
sunbathing and snacks. When we were
ready to leave, I looked up Mike’s address on his license so that I could
return his phone. He was 2 miles away so
I figured I would return it for his mother’s sake. 10 minutes later I was knocking on Mike’s
door and meeting his folks. Mike was at
work, thank you for asking, though he features heavily in this story he was
notably absent. We made small talk,
rolled our eyes like parents do and agreed that is was a strange turn of events
that brought me to their doorstep. “I
really thought it was gone.” Mike’s mum said.
“Crazy that you were able to find it.”
It was that sentiment that got me thinking this
week. Have you ever lost anything important
my friend? Granted expensive iphones are
important but my mind to turned to things that can’t be recovered by humans. Have you ever lost hope? A situation confronts you that can’t be fixed
and you are years past praying for an answer.
That happens sometimes to people who have faith, despite what the happy
clappy set says. There are times when we
wait to find hope, to find what is lost and to find a remedy for what left us
broken.
I wanted to remind you that with God, hope is never
lost. He knows where it is and in time
will bring it back to you. It might not
be as staggering as Mike’s phone being found in the river, but God doesn’t
forget people. One of my favorite names
for God is El Roi, the God who sees. I’m thinking of you this week, if you are one
of the many who are experiencing loss. I
pray that your hope would be restored: gently and persistently. That the Lord would gather you in a new
current and that refreshing waters would give you momentum again.
xoxKaren
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