Slippery When Wet....

I went river rafting last week while on vacation. Half way down the river, the kids wanted to stop and jump off rocks into the cold water to cool down. I jumped out near shore being at the front of the large raft. There were many rocks in the shallower water. I started pulling the boat toward shore where I was stepping carefully on the mossy rocks. Some rocks had fine slippery moss on them and others had a large grassy type that was soft to step on and wasn't slick.


I was being very careful and I put my weight on a rock that looked stable. The rock wasn't stable and my foot started slipping down to what I thought was the bottom of the river and beyond. I felt it hit and scrape on the outside of my foot. Then it hit a rock on the inside and I feared that I may get it wedged and my body weight would break my leg. Finally, it hit bottom wedged between many rocks and I knew I had done damage.

It was funny while it was slipping deeper and deeper it was as if it were in slow motion. I knew what was happening but couldn't stop it and had to wait for it to hit bottom before I could evaluate the damage and try to get out of the situation. I ended up falling in and sitting on a rock on the way down.

When I pulled it out, I had a cut on my left outer ankle and bruises already appearing on three parts on my inner leg.

I couldn't help thinking on the way down the rest of the river run how that the situation is so much like life. We make choices. We put our weight and trust into it and then once we have committed to that path, we find that the choice was a bad choice and even though sometimes we want to back out and make another, we have to wait until we hit bottom to assess the damage and find a safe path out of the result of our choices. We have bumps, cuts and bruises emotionally and in our lives and assess if we want to try that path again or which other choices we could or should have made or will make in the future based upon how that choice effected us.

The first day, the bruise on the foot was dark with several shades of purples and dark red. The bruises on the leg came out darker after a few days. This was also like life. Sometimes the consequences are quick and over quickly and others show up later and the true damage done isn't evident for some time.

I pondered how wonderful it would be if every trial in our life had warning signs. Such as, "The consequence of drinking this may be you end up paralyzed for life." or "If you take this pill and drive, you may kill someones child." Or, "The choices you make in this relationship may make you responsible for a child for the next 18 years!" etc.

I then realized that God did give us warning signs. He gave us scriptures and commandments that keep us safe. If we follow those rules and warning signs, we can avoid the slippery rocks that may seem steady and safe but once you actually step into that situation, it is anything but solid and safe.

If we follow the Ten Commandments, we can be on solid ground.

"And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God…

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'

SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'

May we all choose to avoid the slippery rocks, stand on firm ground and choose to read and follow the caution signs!