{"id":1986,"date":"2022-09-21T08:12:32","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T12:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1986"},"modified":"2022-09-21T08:12:32","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T12:12:32","slug":"dont-freak-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/21\/dont-freak-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Freak Out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to this reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>.

Eight summers ago, my two brothers and I embarked on the trip of a lifetime.
\u00a0
Over the course of six days we traveled 100 miles in wooden dories on the turbulent Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.\u00a0
\u00a0
It was a blast.<\/em>
\u00a0
We experienced about 30 sets of rapids, three of which at the time were reckoned to be Class 10 \u2013 whitewater that is sufficiently fierce to be judged a direct threat to human safety.\u00a0
\u00a0
Let\u2019s just say our decision to entrust ourselves to professional guides was definitely worth it.
\u00a0
We had heard stories about people \u201cswimming\u201d the rapids, held up only by life jackets \u2013 bobbing up and down through the waves, carried forward by the current. \u00a0Could we do that?\u00a0 \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d said the guide who was manning our oars that day.
\u00a0
We would have to wait for a relatively calm stretch of whitewater.\u00a0 \u201cAnd there are two rules,\u201d he said:
\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. \u201cDon\u2019t freak out.\u201d<\/li>
  2. \u201cDon\u2019t drink the river\u201d (which we figured would be a direct consequence of violating Rule #1).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    As we approached the next set of rapids we waited for our guide\u2019s signal and jumped from the boat. 

    We floated on our backs, feet pointed downriver.  

    Our guide was right.  As soon as we hit the whitewater, I felt a strong and growing personal desire to freak out.

    After topping the river\u2019s first \u201cstanding wave,\u201d we plunged into a trough.  The next standing wave crashed over us.  Don\u2019t drink the river, <\/em>I kept thinking.

    Ultimately the three of us emerged from the chaos into calmer water.  \u201cPiece of cake,\u201d I said to myself, as soon as we had climbed back into the boat.  Yeah, right.

    Swimming the rapids is a risk \u2013 an optional, controlled risk.  But getting up in the morning and facing the next 24 hours is inherently risky from the get-go.  And there\u2019s nothing optional about it.

    What does it mean obey the New Testament\u2019s injunction to \u201clive by faith\u201d?  What does faith look like?  What does faith feel<\/em> like?

    Here\u2019s a great place to start:

    Don\u2019t freak out.<\/em>
    Don\u2019t be afraid.<\/em>
    Don\u2019t worry.<\/em>
    Don\u2019t lose your grip.<\/em>

    That\u2019s because you\u2019re not in charge. 

    And despite cherished assumptions to the contrary, you\u2019re not really in control of what\u2019s going to happen today, either.

    But here\u2019s the wonderful news:  God is<\/em>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    To listen to this reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here. Eight summers ago, my two brothers and I embarked on the trip of a lifetime.\u00a0Over the course of six days we traveled 100 miles in wooden dories on the turbulent Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.\u00a0\u00a0It was a blast.\u00a0We experienced about 30 sets of rapids, three of which at the time… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[205,296],"class_list":["post-1986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fear","tag-worry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1988,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986\/revisions\/1988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}