Come to the River of Life....

How often have you been so confused by things going on in your life that you cried out, "Doesn't God care?" I decided to take this river journey to seek out God and find some truths. My heart was crushed, my spirit aching...I had lost my direction in life.

I knew I needed to get back to God and His truths....Hab3:19 says The Sovereign Lord is my Strength...he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.....

I wanted to get back to my Creator....

from where I knew I have drawn strength and direction in the past.

So I took the journey on the river of life and learned and relearned so many of God's truth that I want to write them on my door posts to remind me again and again of His faithfulness.

Starting out on this journey I had my fears.....was I strong enough and experienced enough to take this journey on my own.....could the river carry  me or was it too low....would I freeze to death.....would I be attacked by coyotes.....what if I tipped the canoe and lost everything and got soaking wet and cold...did I have enough food along....could I do it without a partner....what if my cell phone died and I was 'truly' alone.... I wanted this time with God....so "I sought the Lord and He heard me and  delivered me from all my fears...

My journey began at Outlook....I thought about launching at the Gardiner Dam which would make my trip a day or two longer but God gives us 'wise' friends....Marie said, "I feel more comfortable if you stick to the original plan"....listen to your friends.....I would have been caught in high winds and rain had I deviated from 'The Plan'....

Starting out the first thing I saw was a 'Bald Eagle' sitting with its baby and then it took off and soared above me for a long time....I was reminded of the bible verse....

isaiah 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Song...I will soar on eagles wings by Cystal Lake Elementary School

I will soar on eagles wings

I was 'weary'...I needed to find strength so this journey would be a good time to 'wait upon the Lord' and draw from Him....to be renewed.

It seemed to take forever the first day to get anywhere. I left the bridge at Outlook and 13 km later I could still see that bridge.

Sailor Dan and I starting our journey in Outlook

Marie giving me a great sendoff and a prayer for safety

I came to my first river challenge. How do I decide which channel to take. The river was low so I needed to find the 'deep' channel with the least amount of sandbars. The map I had was not perfect....the river is constantly changing so what was a wide channel today may be a trickle tomorrow as I found out later in my journey. I paused and prayed.....Lord help me find the way.....I looked up and there in front of me was a path of beautiful white feathers floating in the direction of one of the channels....Angel feathers.....I had my way! I followed mud bubbles and water ripples  and sometimes I just sat quiet when the waves were blowing against me and just let the current take me in the right direction....it snaked across the river keeping me mostly in the deeper channels or at least deep enough to float me.


Angel feathers and a lucky lady bug lead the way...

The first night I passed many sandhill cranes....they were huge and noisy....I was getting tired so camped not far from an island of them and they sang their noisy songs all night long.

Noisy neighbors..

I tried my best not to disturb them but it was a rare moment when I could quietly sneak by the thousands of them on the sandbars.

Evening Song.....

I left it too late the first night and it was getting dark when I camped. I thought I was organized...ha....I couldn't find anything.....I did get something to eat and found enough wood for a campfire to toast my feet. Hopping in and out of the canoe to maneuver around sandbars meant I travelled in my bare feet so my toes were needing a toasting. Many people kept me warm on my first night....Mikes hoodie covered my back....Tamara's toque and gloves keep my head and hands warm.....Georges wool socks that I darned before I left kept my feet warm and a cell phone call to Marie keep my heart encouraged and all my family and friends cheering me on.... I never felt alone or lonely.

Good Night World....

Day 2 was hot and I burned my nose and the way was easy going....the wind was at my back and the current carried me along without any strenuous paddling....peace like a river took on new meaning. Just the water lapping and the cranes and geese squawking and a frightened beaver slapping his tail in warning.
Discovered after the first day that short pants were in order as jumping in and out of the boat made for wet jeans.

Soggy Bottom Boys

Decided it was time for Sailor Dan to experience his first dip in the river....Tried to talk him into getting rid of that lovely blue, red and white suit he was wearing but he decided against it. So we took a dip and washed up for the day.

Sailor Dan enjoying swimming among the rocks...

We had stopped in Outlook at an antique shop and I bought this dipper so I could enjoy my morning coffee and evening hot chocolate.

Moring cup of 'joe'

Sailor Dan froze his butt off so decided to thaw out in the morning sun while I packed up our gear.

George had sent along some corn on the cob so I toasted it and had a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans and corn on the cob....mm mm good!

Sailor Dan waiting on a woman....