SIL Sept/Oct 2019

Everyday Adventures
Riding the Waves
My only job on the lake that
day was to hold on tight. I
was riding something called
a water rocket, which is basically
a giant inflatable banana pulled by a
ski boat.
All I had to do was hang on to the
strap in front of me and keep my balance.
Sounds easy enough, right? It would have
been, except for the fact that the guy driving
the boat had one job: Dump me in the
lake. That meant he was going to drag me
in circles, whip me from side-to-side and
do everything he could to beat the tar out
of me to force me to let go.
There were six of us on the water
rocket that afternoon — three dads, two
teenage boys and my 10-year-old daughter.
From the second we took off, the boys
started taunting the driver, yelling at him
and giving him a thumbs-up to go faster,
go faster. I was pretty sure they were going
to get us killed.
My daughter took the worst of
it. Riding on the front, she had a steady
spray of lake water pummeling her face.
After drinking several gallons, she’d had
enough. She signaled the driver to cut the
engines, then swam across to the boat.
I realized, as she climbed on board,
the rest of us were now toast. The driver
had been taking it easy on us because of
her, but now that it was just the guys, we
were in serious trouble.
As soon as my daughter settled in,
the driver punched it. He veered right
and left, bouncing us over the waves. It
was like riding a mechanical bull in a hurricane.
Each bump felt like it was going to
throw me. I did my best to lean into the
curves and white-knuckled it with every
ounce of strength I had. The banana boat
was so slippery, though, I knew I wouldn’t
last long.
A few minutes later, one of the teenagers
shot into the air in front of me, and
I was thankful for the break. My forearms
were killing me. We picked him up, took
a few more curves and then lost the two
other dads off the back.
Now there were only two of us who
hadn’t fallen off. We didn’t have much
time left on the rocket, so the driver went
46 • Sept/Oct 2019 • Southern Indiana Living
for broke. He threw us into a tight turn,
then suddenly yanked us back the other
direction. At that moment, the wind
caught the side of the water rocket and
flipped the whole thing in the air, spilling
us into the lake.
Despite the fact I’d outlasted almost
everyone else on the boat, at the end of the
day we all ended up soaked. All it took
was one good turn to break my grip.
My adventure on the lake seemed all
too familiar.
Sometimes life has a way of whipping
us around faster than a water rocket.
We feel like we’re being dragged through
circumstances we never would have chosen.
We get sprayed in the face with money
problems, yanked across the rough waters
of diffcult relationships and bumped,
battered and bruised by all manner of
hard situations that seem designed to toss
us into the deep.
It’s all we can do just to hang on and
keep going.
Worse yet, at times it feels like someone
is actively trying to throw us. We
hear that little voice in our heads telling
us life will never get better, to give up on
our marriage, to give up on our faith, to
give up on ourselves. What’s the point, we
think? Why do we even bother trying?
On days like that we all need to remember
that life isn’t just about holding
on tight. It’s about the fact that God is
holding onto us. In Isaiah 41:13 God says,
“For I hold you by your right hand …
And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am
here to help you’” (NLT).
My problem on the lake that day
was that I was clinging to a flimsy craft
attached to a boat piloted by a guy who
was working against me. No matter how
much I tried to hold on, he was in the driver’s
seat, which meant that eventually he
was going to win.
In my everyday life, though, I have
an option. I can choose to hold on to someone
who is for me, not against me. I can
anchor myself to someone who is more
solid and stable than the fickle circumstances
of this crazy world.
In the Bible, the people who knew
God best compared him to things like a
rock, a fortress and a firm foundation. He
is unshakable, unstoppable and relentlessly
loving toward his people.
I do have an adversary who is trying
to throw me overboard, but the good
news is he’s not driving the boat. When
I’m tired, discouraged and feel like giving
up, I have to remind myself that God
is still good and he is still in control. And
when I’m too weak to hold onto him, I discover
that he is holding onto me. Sure, I’ll
still get tossed around on the waves, but
his strength is more than enough to keep
my head above water and bring me safely
to shore. •
Jason Byerly is a writer, pastor, husband and
dad who loves the quirky surprises God sends
his way every day. You can read more from
Jason in his books Tales from the Leaf Pile and
Holiday Road. You can catch up with Jason on
his blog at www.jasonbyerly.com.