Hillsboro River Adventure
My sister-in-laws are absolutely wonderful. Each one is gifted with special talents and abilities. One is an expert gardener, she can grow anything. Her backyard would give “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine a run for its money. Another is a gifted physician and one of the smartest and most impressive women I have ever known. These two sisters have homes that look like they hired interior designers to decorate, but they did it all on their own. Another sister-in-law can fix anything. She has a very mechanical mind and she loves a hands-on challenge. My brother’s wife is probably the best mom in the entire world. They are all fabulous cooks. They all possess this amazing skill of which I seriously lack in talent. Though they are all expert gardeners, fabulous cooks, interior designers and amazing professionals, what I treasure the most in each one of them is that they are special friends. Had fate not brought us together as family, I feel certain that friendship would have found us. We all have so much fun together. I could tell you story after story, list laugh after laugh and map out for you adventure after adventure. Let’s start with an adventure! The setting is Tampa, Florida and the adventure takes place on the Hillsboro River.
My sister-in-law Terri has 3 beautiful daughters and my daughter Kendall is very close to her cousins. We both love each other’s children like they are our own. When our girls are all together, people often ask if they are sisters. While visiting this Tampa, Florida family one summer, Terri and I decided it would be an awesome day if we were to take the girls on a canoe trip down the Hillsboro River. We had grandiose visions of floating leisurely down the river, enjoying an easy day together. Boy, were we wrong! Little did we know, we were about to embark on one of the most challenging adventures.
We arrived on site, excited about the day. Because of our adventurous spirits, we decided to take the self-guided tour of the river. We jumped on a bus and were taken up the river to our launch location. Terri and Katie were in one canoe, and I had Kendall and Hannah with me. Our trip started out with singing and laughter. We joined together in a few rounds of “row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.” Yeah, right. Before the trip was over we were humming a tune from “Deliverance”. We were given a few instructions and as we were being shoved into the river with river maps in hand, our guide gave us some basic information.
He shared with us that the river was going to come to a “T” up ahead and if we took a right at the “T” we could have an up close and personal look at the alligators. He went on to tell us that the river there created a pool where alligators would hang out. If we took a left, our downstream journey would begin. Of course, I was fascinated by the idea of going to the alligator hang out, so guess which direction we chose. You bet! We hung a right at the “T”.
We were surrounded by tons of alligators. Some were sunning on logs, some were getting in the water and many were all around us in the water. It was creepy, quiet and I remember that it was very “still” all around us. The water was deep and calm; almost too calm. The atmosphere was very ominous. Occasionally, we would hear the loud screech of a bird and its cry would pierce the silence. We paddled gently around the pool and alligators would pop up all around us. Some of them we could see very clearly, others revealed only their heads and big ole’ eye balls floating just above the surface of the water. Others would pop up quite unexpected and sometimes a bit too close for comfort near our canoe. It was quite an experience. The girls were nervous and held their breath at moments, sitting very still in the canoe. They sat as close to the middle of the canoe as possible, being very aware of keeping their arms and legs in the canoe at all times. I thought it was an interesting experience. There was a sense of danger coupled with a great fascination. After our little group had enough of the alligator hang out, we spun the canoes around anxious and excited about the next part of our adventure.
The “scenic” trip was supposed to be a two-hour experience. During our first three miles downstream, the river was quite narrow and we had to be careful of deadfalls and stumps hiding just below the surface of the river. The water in this area was shallow and rarely exceeds one foot in depth, according to the website. If only we had known that in advance! We kept getting stuck on the bottom of the river. Our canoes would get lodged and we had to work with all our might to get ourselves free of the snares. On occasion, which was very dangerous, Terri and I had to get out of our canoes, stand in the river and physically pick up our little boats. The entire time we were afraid of snakes and other critters we might encounter. After about 4 to 5 hours, the sun was beginning to set and our scenic adventure turned into an exhausting adventure. We were trying very hard at that point to “beat the clock” and make it to our destination for the final pick-up of the day. We did make it back in time. I was never so glad for my feet to hit solid ground. We were all hot, hungry and exhausted.
Our adventure reminded me of the journey of life. So often, we embark on a path that we think will be a fabulous route to take. We don’t think to ask God to be sovereign over the steps we choose and take, we just launch out on our own. What we don’t know are all the dangers that might lie ahead. We never know when the enemy will get too close to our canoe of life and pop his ugly head our way to frighten and distract us. We can become paralyzed with fear. Sometimes, we deliberately paddle too close to the enemy and before we know it we are surrounded and we are in way over our heads. The rivers of our lives are packed full of deadfalls, stumps, rocks, dangerous critters and many obstacles. As humans, we constantly battle the flesh and our natural bent to “be in control”. We take great pride and boast in our independence. Only when we recognize, surrender and bow to our dependence on the Lord can we truly live lives that are victorious and in God’s perfect control. He is El Roi, the God who sees. Who better to trust our lives with than one who has our best interest at heart and who can see around the river bends of our lives? The bible tells us in Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.”