As my brothers-in-laws were racing to see if I was alive, I climbed onto the rock jetting out of the middle of the pool. The events of the last 2 minutes began to sink in. I loosened my life jacket to gain more breath. I thought back to when I was under the water. Wow, I really could have died there, I thought to myself. Then I remembered there was something wrapped around my ankles at one point, and that something had felt different. I looked down and immediately knew the truth…I would like to tell you I was surprised, but it was not the first time I had lost my pants in public, nor in water sports. As I crawled out of the water, there we were. Three guys, three rafts, one paddle, miles from the car, the sun setting, one guy with no shoes, and another wearing only his underwear. You can’t make this stuff up.
As I stated before, it was not the first time I lost my pants. Let’s travel down memory lane for a moment. The year was 1989. I was playing at recess…tag of course, my favorite game. I was “it” and I was going after Alaina Ruffner. She was on the monkey bars; I jumped to tag her as she swung down to avoid the tap. Somehow her foot swiped across my waist knocking off the button to my shorts. Before I could act things felt a bit breezy. Now it is one thing to have your pants drop to the ground in front of a cute girl; it is quite another to do so before the entire fourth grade. The same year my underwear was confiscated and hung from the flagpole at camp, but that’s still a little to sensitive to discuss.
Let’s fast forward to 1998. It was a great day boating with some of my friends in the Pensacola bay. Tubing was the sport of choice, and we were attempting a very difficult trick simply called the roll. The roll was a maneuver we attempted after the tube flipped over due to the centrifugal force. Most people let go at this point, but not us. The goal was to roll the tube back over and pull yourself up, all while being dragged across the bay at 40-50 MPH. So here was my chance. My good friend David Mayo spun us around. I could feel the force pulling me over as we whipped around the turn at over 60. The tube flipped but I was determined to hold on. The tube was now ridding me as my body was skipping across the water. I managed with all my strength to flip it over. Now the hard part…Could I pull myself back onto the tube with all the force against me? I couldn’t believe it…I was actually doing it. Then I got the feeling that was beginning to feel familiar…There I was, skipping across the bay totally naked. So as you can see, being pantless was nothing new.
Now back to our story…With me on the rock and friends now seeing me alive, we had quite a road ahead. I managed to get over to the shore and from there we would have to climb back to the others. Now I am not really a big hiking and climbing kind of guy, especially carrying a 60 lb raft. This was no ordinary shore, however. In fact, it was no “shore” at all; it was sharp rock, thistles, and one other wonderful element that I will introduce later. Rob and I began the climb up the very steep, very sharp boulders. Again, I would not usually attempt this climb under normal circumstances, much less while carrying a raft, wearing just my underwear, and in case you forgot, after just almost drowning. But our options were limited. We somehow made the accent and descent back to the other rafts. Our plan at this point was to leave the rafts, come back tomorrow, and hope our original port which was close due to the forest fire would be reopened. We thought there might be a trail a few hundred yards above us, so we attempted to find it. After 20 minutes of climbing over rocks and through thistle-coated braches, we found the trail. Now it was simply a 2 ½ mile hike to the car. All of us were hurting pretty good at this point. Our 3 hour trip was now at 9 hours. The sun had done a decent amount of damage to our skin, I was still recovering from the event, and George was wearing Aqua Socks…not the best shoes for hiking through tough terrain. After the long hike we made it to the car. A car seat was never so comfortable as in that moment. The drive home was an interesting one of reflection. I could not wait just to lay down. But there was one obstacle… The living room where I knew the whole family was hanging out, was on the way to the bedroom. But at this point I didn’t care. Our spouses had been waiting quite awhile and were eager to greet us. As I walked to the bedroom I heard my sister-in-law say, “Interesting, it appears that Eric isn’t wearing any pants.” But again it wasn’t the first time I heard someone say this.
And so ends Part II. I would love to tell you the story ends here but it is only half over. Tomorrow would be almost as interesting.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Eric's Story, Part I (a continuing saga)
As my kayak crashed against the rock, I began to think that maybe this was not the best idea. As soon as I fell out I was rushed down the famous Murderers Barge Class V rapid. I was sucked into a hydraulic, and spun around and around like huge washing machine. At this point there were multiple problems. I hadn't known I was about to go under so taking a deep breath had not been my first thought. I was quickly running out of air. God, I don’t want to die. Not like this. The point came when all my air was gone, but I was still under being tossed and turned by the strong current. In a moment I knew I would have to take a breath. Here it goes...this could really be bad, but I had no choice...
To my astonishment, what filled my lungs was not the cool water of the river, but pure air. I couldn’t believe it! My head must have popped above the water a quarter of a second before I took the breath. I swore I was still under water. However, the fight with the river was not over. Murderers Barge was just the first of consecutive Class V rapids. Somehow my kayak bumped right into me, and instead of facing the other rapids we headed to the left into a calmer pool. At this point I was still terrified. I couldn't touch the bottom of the river, all my strength was gone, and I still needed to get back into the boat. The life jacket and the grace of God were keeping me alive. I headed to a large rock and somehow climbed onto it.
I later learned that during this time, my brothers-in-laws didn’t see any of this, and were starting to talk about how they were going to tell Leila. Her father just died in December and now this...They raced up the hill above and thought, Maybe he made it...
--To be continued...
To my astonishment, what filled my lungs was not the cool water of the river, but pure air. I couldn’t believe it! My head must have popped above the water a quarter of a second before I took the breath. I swore I was still under water. However, the fight with the river was not over. Murderers Barge was just the first of consecutive Class V rapids. Somehow my kayak bumped right into me, and instead of facing the other rapids we headed to the left into a calmer pool. At this point I was still terrified. I couldn't touch the bottom of the river, all my strength was gone, and I still needed to get back into the boat. The life jacket and the grace of God were keeping me alive. I headed to a large rock and somehow climbed onto it.
I later learned that during this time, my brothers-in-laws didn’t see any of this, and were starting to talk about how they were going to tell Leila. Her father just died in December and now this...They raced up the hill above and thought, Maybe he made it...
--To be continued...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Jesus is beauty
Eric and I just finished traveling across a good portion of Colorado and Utah, and even got to drive across the southern part of Wyoming! It was AMAZING. As gorgeous as Summit County is, I have to admit there are a few places just as beautiful (of course I don't hear anyone teasing those pastors about "suffering for Jesus," but whatever).
Because in Summit County we're so close to the mountains, we don't get to see ranges behind ranges behind ranges. We did in Utah. Beautiful. In Wyoming it was more of that--and LOTS of snow--but the wildlife was the really awesome part. We saw dear everywhere, at one point only about 5 feet from our car. In the north part of Colorado it was raw and rugged, with huge jagged rocks on the tops of the mountains that reminded me of the Badlands in South Dakota. When we got to Steamboat Springs the sun was going down. Because of a recent snow all the trees were white, and the stark contrast between the blue sky and white trees was breaktaking. In the south part we went over the most magnificent pass I've ever seen. Red Mountain Pass was amazing, with frozen blue waterfalls all around and canyons so deep that no one would ever be found if they fell into them.
And I kept thinking, God made all this. What a creative Creator we have!
Leila
Because in Summit County we're so close to the mountains, we don't get to see ranges behind ranges behind ranges. We did in Utah. Beautiful. In Wyoming it was more of that--and LOTS of snow--but the wildlife was the really awesome part. We saw dear everywhere, at one point only about 5 feet from our car. In the north part of Colorado it was raw and rugged, with huge jagged rocks on the tops of the mountains that reminded me of the Badlands in South Dakota. When we got to Steamboat Springs the sun was going down. Because of a recent snow all the trees were white, and the stark contrast between the blue sky and white trees was breaktaking. In the south part we went over the most magnificent pass I've ever seen. Red Mountain Pass was amazing, with frozen blue waterfalls all around and canyons so deep that no one would ever be found if they fell into them.
And I kept thinking, God made all this. What a creative Creator we have!
Leila
Sunday, February 3, 2008
it's hard work to rest
Lately I've been thinking about rest, and how hard it is to come by sometimes in our culture and world. I felt a little better when I read a story about the Israelites, just after God had brought them out of Egypt:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Look, I'm going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual."...On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual--four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. He told them ,"This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow....You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day." Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. The Lord asked Moses, "How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord's gift to you. That is why He gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days." --Portions of Exodus 16, NTL
Imagine this...God asks the Israelites to set aside one day just for rest, and for Him. But not only does He ask this, He gives them everything they will need to do this! He gives them twice as much food the day before so they don't even have to gather food, but still they are so used to working and being busy (and perhaps providing for themselves?) that they go out to gather food on the seventh day!
Why is it so hard to rest? Our culture screams at us to stay busy, to keep moving, to be efficient, and to have something to show for our efforts. I have myself been a part of the I'm-busier-than-you arguments that somehow we feel shows our value to others. But God says, "REST! Your value doesn't lie in your busyness or your fruitfulness, it lies in ME."
It's amazing that God even stopped the manna from falling on the seventh day. Probably He knew that even though He had commanded the people not to gather that day, they would still do it just because there was something to keep them busy! So He eliminated the problem by basically giving them nothing to do.
If only God would do that for us! He tells us to rest, to pause, to meditate, to be...but nothing around us seems to stop to help us do that. The manna is still falling, if you will, and we look at it, and then at God, and think, "Well, it won't take LONG to gather it...why not just do a little...God would be pleased, I think, with my work ethic!" And somehow the seventh day comes and goes, and rest is still out there somewhere, waiting.
If we need an example of one who paused and rested in the true sense of the Sabbath, in spite of craziness going all around, we need only to look to Jesus. But even He had to work hard at being alone and with the Father, because if He ministered (worked for God) whenever there was a chance to, He would have never stopped! Many times the Gospel writers tell us that crowds and crowds were waiting to be prayed for or blessed, so I doubt Jesus was ever lacking someone to help. Yet He rested.
So once again, I identify with the Israelites...but I know that if I obey Him and learn to value rest and what it means for my life, I will be a happier, more fruitful disciple than I ever could thought possible.
Leila
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Look, I'm going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual."...On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual--four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. He told them ,"This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow....You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day." Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. The Lord asked Moses, "How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord's gift to you. That is why He gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days." --Portions of Exodus 16, NTL
Imagine this...God asks the Israelites to set aside one day just for rest, and for Him. But not only does He ask this, He gives them everything they will need to do this! He gives them twice as much food the day before so they don't even have to gather food, but still they are so used to working and being busy (and perhaps providing for themselves?) that they go out to gather food on the seventh day!
Why is it so hard to rest? Our culture screams at us to stay busy, to keep moving, to be efficient, and to have something to show for our efforts. I have myself been a part of the I'm-busier-than-you arguments that somehow we feel shows our value to others. But God says, "REST! Your value doesn't lie in your busyness or your fruitfulness, it lies in ME."
It's amazing that God even stopped the manna from falling on the seventh day. Probably He knew that even though He had commanded the people not to gather that day, they would still do it just because there was something to keep them busy! So He eliminated the problem by basically giving them nothing to do.
If only God would do that for us! He tells us to rest, to pause, to meditate, to be...but nothing around us seems to stop to help us do that. The manna is still falling, if you will, and we look at it, and then at God, and think, "Well, it won't take LONG to gather it...why not just do a little...God would be pleased, I think, with my work ethic!" And somehow the seventh day comes and goes, and rest is still out there somewhere, waiting.
If we need an example of one who paused and rested in the true sense of the Sabbath, in spite of craziness going all around, we need only to look to Jesus. But even He had to work hard at being alone and with the Father, because if He ministered (worked for God) whenever there was a chance to, He would have never stopped! Many times the Gospel writers tell us that crowds and crowds were waiting to be prayed for or blessed, so I doubt Jesus was ever lacking someone to help. Yet He rested.
So once again, I identify with the Israelites...but I know that if I obey Him and learn to value rest and what it means for my life, I will be a happier, more fruitful disciple than I ever could thought possible.
Leila
Thursday, January 24, 2008
hinds' feet
Just a few days after my father died, my twin sister Alia and I both felt an urge to read an old book again, called Hinds' Feet on High Places. It's an allegory about a girl named Much Afraid, who follows the Chief Shepherd to the high places. It is a wonderful story, and I would recommend it to anyone. Eric and I read it together on a few trips this last week (I read aloud to him in the car when we travel to services), and we both learned so many great lessons from it. After the body of the book are some journal entries from Hannah Hurnard that sort of show how she got the concepts of the story, and below is an excerpt:
"How suddenly the change had come. One moment I was gazing almost breathlessly at the beauty of the Haustock [a mountain in Switzerland] as the clouds lifted from it for the first time. Then just half an hour later all the snow mountains were blotted out as completely as if they did not exist. Before I got back to the Bergfrieden Pension Haus all the nearer hills and fields and chalets had disappeared, and mist and rain completely shrouded the landscape. Then my Lord said, 'These changes come in life, too. For one hour the vision on the Mount, and then perhaps, almost directly, the descent into the depths of the valley where the vision may seem to be completely blotted out by changed circumstances. But believe steadfastly in what I showed you in the hours of vision and clear sky. The reality is there still, even though a curtain seems to blot it out. You have seen the Haustock, and though there is no trace of it now, and it has disappeared like a dream, nevertheless it is there. It is a reality. But the mist and cloud are transient and will pass away, and the true reality appear again!'"
It is amazing how often we go by the things we can see with our eyes, even though God has so clearly showed us the reality before. I've found that when the mist comes, I look around and wonder if I ever saw clearly what the vision really was...but that's ridiculous. Just because I can't see something with my eyes doesn't mean it isn't there. The reality is sometimes covered by other things: confusion, doubt in myself, troubles around--but it is still there, as strong and unmoveable as a mountain. It is not what moves, my faith is. And yet God, the One who allows the mist and shadow to come between me and the reality, gives me a glimpse of it here and there, and reminds me that it is not my job to create the reality (only He can do that), but to believe it, proclaim it, and follow my Lord in obedience until it is clear to the rest of the world. That is our job here in Summit County, and I will do my best to be faithful to it.
Leila
"How suddenly the change had come. One moment I was gazing almost breathlessly at the beauty of the Haustock [a mountain in Switzerland] as the clouds lifted from it for the first time. Then just half an hour later all the snow mountains were blotted out as completely as if they did not exist. Before I got back to the Bergfrieden Pension Haus all the nearer hills and fields and chalets had disappeared, and mist and rain completely shrouded the landscape. Then my Lord said, 'These changes come in life, too. For one hour the vision on the Mount, and then perhaps, almost directly, the descent into the depths of the valley where the vision may seem to be completely blotted out by changed circumstances. But believe steadfastly in what I showed you in the hours of vision and clear sky. The reality is there still, even though a curtain seems to blot it out. You have seen the Haustock, and though there is no trace of it now, and it has disappeared like a dream, nevertheless it is there. It is a reality. But the mist and cloud are transient and will pass away, and the true reality appear again!'"
It is amazing how often we go by the things we can see with our eyes, even though God has so clearly showed us the reality before. I've found that when the mist comes, I look around and wonder if I ever saw clearly what the vision really was...but that's ridiculous. Just because I can't see something with my eyes doesn't mean it isn't there. The reality is sometimes covered by other things: confusion, doubt in myself, troubles around--but it is still there, as strong and unmoveable as a mountain. It is not what moves, my faith is. And yet God, the One who allows the mist and shadow to come between me and the reality, gives me a glimpse of it here and there, and reminds me that it is not my job to create the reality (only He can do that), but to believe it, proclaim it, and follow my Lord in obedience until it is clear to the rest of the world. That is our job here in Summit County, and I will do my best to be faithful to it.
Leila
Monday, January 21, 2008
home sweet home
Well, we have officially been in Summit County for one week. It has been bitter sweet for several reasons...of course we are still adjusting to the changes, and Leila is still hurting from the recent loss of her father. Within the first few days of arriving, several major things seemed to go wrong, and we eventually figured out that we were under some spiritual attack. Once we began praying against it, things went a lot better! We absolutely love our home, and God blessed us with a great car just a few days after we got here.
Thank you so much, everyone who has supported us through your prayers, encouragement, and finances. We look forward to updating you often about our times here in Colorado.
God bless and good night,
Eric & Leila
Thank you so much, everyone who has supported us through your prayers, encouragement, and finances. We look forward to updating you often about our times here in Colorado.
God bless and good night,
Eric & Leila
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