Being a nanny isn't always an exciting job. But everyday I'm taught little lessons as I spend more time with the kids and truly get to know them. By this point, I'm used to that during the week. But I never thought I'd learn a major lesson on my day off.
This week started off with a huge adventure. We had heard about a place where you could go tubing on the Simbulan River. You paid for a tube and a guide and braved the mighty river with only a rubber circle and a stranger to guide you. Sounds fun right? We invited a friend from the orphanage to go with us and she turned about to be our biggest asset. We took a Jeepney to the river and it dropped us off literally on the side of the road.
There were no signs or anything to guide us to the tubing place we were looking for. So our friend, Ailene, asked a guy for directions and he decided to lead us there. He led us all through the woods, over a muddy terrain and giant rocks. Little did we know, this man did not really know where he was going either. That became very evident once we reached the side of the river and there was nothing in sight. He then reveals to us that we are on the wrong side of the river and we must cross over to continue on our way.
Well there was no bridge or road or anyway to really cross this river except for one, walk across. So we all joined hands and waded our way across this river. After crossing, we walked a few more minutes in the woods and somehow ended up at the tubing place, exhausted and in my case, dripping sweat. But we weren't giving up. We each got a tube and a guide and set off.
Our guide rode behind us the entire way to make sure we didn't fall out or hit anything. There were parts of the river with some serious rapids and others calm as a lake. And we never knew what awaited us around the next bend. Yes, at times I was scared for my life, but I survived! The whole journey reminded me a lot about our spiritual life.
As Christians, we're called to cross rivers and walk over mountainous terrains. We take the harder road because in the end the treasures that await us in heaven are worth more than anything this world could give us. We're called to brave mighty rivers, not knowing how everything will turn out in the end. Sometimes, we experience times of rapids and things seem to be passing too fast for us to keep up. Other times we experience peace.
But we never truly know what could happen next. Being a Christian can be dangerous. But we should never worry because we have the Holy Spirit as our guide. He is always there to steer us in the right direction and pick us up when we fall. With God, we can face any river or any mountain because Christ is on our side. And at the end of the day, we can look back at the many adventures we've had and how far we've come that day and give God all the glory. Because we never know what He has in store for us around the next river bend. But in the end, it will glorify Him.
-Melanie
-Melanie
