I am thankful for last weekend when as a family we went "tubing" down the Shenandoah River. We do not have the resources for a real "American" vacation where you go to someplace like Disneyland, or a cruise, or a big city. We were only able to stay two nights away and have this one adventure.
We signed up with a river adventure company and they provided the tubes for us and drove us to the launch area with the instructions that at a predetermined place called "marker 11" they would pick us up down the river in about four hours.
I was glad to see the kids splashing each other and bantering about. We saw many beautiful birds. The river was moving slowly and it was very relaxing. There were a few "rapids," but in the tube, they were just a little bump and splash. We had a tube to put our lunch on and when we were ready paddled over the bank and had a nice lunch in the shade on the grass under a tree. It was enjoyable to lay back and watch the blue sky and see the trees pass by overhead. The river was shallow and we found places where we slipped out of the tubes and waded in the river. I fell in the river once or three times which gave us all a good laugh. We had so much fun that when it was all over we resolved to do it again next year.
I confess that I often felt jealous of families that can go to exciting places, some go to other countries, or the whole family can fly across the nation for a dream vacation to Hawaii, but not us.
In making thankfulness my goal I want to look at what God has given us and be thankful for it; but I must thank him for what we don't have, for in his wisdom he has not given us these things or experiences. I look at the fun we had at our little river rafting adventure and thank God for that. If I still feel a little jealous I thank him some more for different parts or aspects of the trip. I am freed from jealousy not by refusing to look at how God has blessed other people or how he has blessed me but by looking at God and being thankful.
By the way, if you ever get the chance to go river tubing with friends I recommend it.
We signed up with a river adventure company and they provided the tubes for us and drove us to the launch area with the instructions that at a predetermined place called "marker 11" they would pick us up down the river in about four hours.
I was glad to see the kids splashing each other and bantering about. We saw many beautiful birds. The river was moving slowly and it was very relaxing. There were a few "rapids," but in the tube, they were just a little bump and splash. We had a tube to put our lunch on and when we were ready paddled over the bank and had a nice lunch in the shade on the grass under a tree. It was enjoyable to lay back and watch the blue sky and see the trees pass by overhead. The river was shallow and we found places where we slipped out of the tubes and waded in the river. I fell in the river once or three times which gave us all a good laugh. We had so much fun that when it was all over we resolved to do it again next year.
I confess that I often felt jealous of families that can go to exciting places, some go to other countries, or the whole family can fly across the nation for a dream vacation to Hawaii, but not us.
In making thankfulness my goal I want to look at what God has given us and be thankful for it; but I must thank him for what we don't have, for in his wisdom he has not given us these things or experiences. I look at the fun we had at our little river rafting adventure and thank God for that. If I still feel a little jealous I thank him some more for different parts or aspects of the trip. I am freed from jealousy not by refusing to look at how God has blessed other people or how he has blessed me but by looking at God and being thankful.
By the way, if you ever get the chance to go river tubing with friends I recommend it.
