Punting

A few weeks ago my wonderful little brother and sister in law took me punting in Cambridge for my birthday present.  It was lovely being taken down the river by Steve and enjoyed seeing Cambridge from a different perspective.  On the way back to the pick up point Steve decided to pass the "big stick" to me and I had a go.  It was scary not only for me but I imagine for them as well.  The pole was long and heavy and standing on a small platform at the back trying to keep your balance was way more difficult than I thought.  The experts make it look so easy.  I managed to move the boat eventually between two bridges and whilst it was reasonably quiet on that part of the river before handing it back to little brother to take us home. 


So what did this mean for me? It was lovely to spend some time with family and enjoy the beauty of the day and surroundings in company that understands me and accepts me for who I am.  But life can throw you  challenges when you don't expect them and when you do it can be harder than you expect.  Just like I thought it would be difficult to punt I had to keep moving forward using the pole whilst trying to maintain my balance and look out for other boats.  


Life as a Christian can also be like this.  Being amongst Christians is like being in a family and you are accepted for who you are.  You don't have to put on an act or impress others.  But then something happens that can cause you problems.  Some unkind words, job loss, loss of a loved one, making choices that will affect the course of your life and its tough to keep going.  But God gives us the bible and the holy spirit (the big long stick) to help us keep living and moving forward in our journey with him, along with family and friends to help us get through to the next stage by helping us, being our eyes and ears to help us work out what to do.  


Keep relying on God to live your life as he would want you live.  Not putting on an act and always having the right tools to keep us going.