In a sturdy orange kayak, learning to paddle,
Trying to avoid a soaking topple,
I manage a zig-zag trail through the lake.
With one stroke, I head toward the left shore,
With its steep hill, a confusion of oaks and jumbled rocks
With the next stroke, I glide to the right,
A family’s messy dock, paddleboards askew
Each kid’s board a different color
My zig-zag, winding trail,
Irregular as the bark of a tree–
Distracting, inefficient, imperfect
Remembering that old movie
Where the boy gently lowers his homemade toy boat
Into the river, and it has a turbulent journey
All the way to the sea.
God has lowered me into this kayak
Into this warped and winding journey
To show me the benefit and the enjoyment
Of the serpentine path
For fifty-odd years I have tried to paddle straight
Through the waters of school, career, child raising,
Avoiding the cockeyed ways
Shunning the lopsided life
Now, I let go of the demand
For the shortest distance between wishes and fulfillment
Because joy can be found
In surrender to the unpredictable.
Ahead, I see two swallows
Careening madly over the surface
Their spiral flight a laughing dance
Chasing each other, just like God and me
Sometimes God chases me
And sometimes I chase God,
But either way, it isn’t too serious
We are one in scrambled joy.
Enjoy another work by Jeff titled Under Construction.
Enjoy my newest short video, Centering Prayer: Next Steps.
Follow me on my journey from why I wrote my upcoming book, Sitting with God: A Journey to Your True Self through Centering Prayer to the things I am doing now to prepare for its release on August 20 by Anamchara Books. Check out my 4 short videos.
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