Some new friends from church invited me to join them on a regular canoe trip down one of the rivers here in the Dayton area. This time it was the Mad River, named after a local hero here, not because of any Bermuda-triangle like effect.
As the only unexperienced canoe-man, I rode as a spectator. After about 5 minutes of turns and scenic straight-aways I received the Mad Baptism. It's as close to death as I've ever been.
The bend in the river was narrow and tight, requiring the canoe to sweep out 90 degrees and then back another 90 very quickly. At the entrance to the bend was a large felled tree with thick limbs and branches, many submerged. The tree had been skinned barkless by the force of the current as the water rushed into the bend.
Unknown to us at the time, our canoe, newly out of the shop after a lengthy repair, was a sluggish turner. As we approached the bend, the canoe lumbered slowly in the direction of the turn, but not nearly quick enough. We lightheartedly mused about this and prepared for a light bump into the tree. The last thing above water that I remember was hearing the front of the canoe tap the tree.
In a flash, quicker than can be believed, the entire 3-man canoe was sunk deep, fully submerged in a split second. Underwater and unable to see at all I felt something on top of my head and something else over my shoulders. Oblivious to my peril, here I was, still smiling, thinking I would pop back up in an instant. That feeling soon passed as I struggled to surface but was unable.
How I eventually surfaced I don't know. But when I came up, there I was wedged in among the limbs of that fallen tree. The current was strong enough to pin me to the limb in front of me. I looked up and saw the two bobbing heads of my friends and thanked my Savior.
You can understand my amazement and delight, when listening to a sermon the next day, I heard:
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. Isaiah 43:1-2
3 comments:
Wow . . . So will you be back next Sunday?
(posted by Amanda)
Beware Brad. He will get you killed. And Matthew is no better. DO NOT go hunting with them. ;-)
Tim, I know that feeling exactly as I had that same experience on the Buffalo River in Arkansas, when I was 20 years old. I'll never forget the feeling of trying to come up and being caged in the by tree's branches, and going down again to find a way out, thinking I would probably drown!
Kelly
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