Anchored

I was with a group of friends kayaking upstream through the Black Canyon, only a short ways from being able to see Hoover Dam from the river. We had spent half of the previous day and the first part of this particular day paddling hard upstream, figuring out that the closer you are to the side of the river, the more progress you could make. We had to fight to move forward and if you were further from the edge you might be paddling as hard and furious and you could, but not moving up the canyon at all. And you can image what would have happened had we stopped paddling all together. There are some things in life that we should stick close and when we do we progress more rapidly; but that's an analogy for another time...

There were a few spots along the side of the river to explore, alcoves where the you could see the water shine a beautiful shade of aqua. There was also a canyon or two where we could climb up to find natural hot springs. The water had formed a sort of a bay to the side of the river where one of these canyons started so it was a perfect spot to park our kayaks. We moved our boats out of the water and headed off to enjoy the hot springs and eat lunch. While we were gone, water was let out of the dam. We returned to find the water level had risen considerably and our kayaks gone. The only boats that remained were those from other groups that had been tied up. I should have known better! I've always been told to tie up boats in case the water rises, but we weren't going to be gone for very long and we figured it was too much hassle to find a way to tie them.

We live in a world that is ever changing in values and beliefs. Society would have you believe that you need to flow with it. Do that and you'll be up a creek without a boat. Stuck. We need to be anchored to something immovable, something that will stand strong no matter what happens around it. Ether 12:4 and Helaman 5:12 teach us what this anchor should be. Faith and hope in Jesus Christ, in the atonement.

You may want to hear the end of the story. We weren't stranded on the river. The Lord was watching out for us. When the water started to rise and the boats started to float away, a couple happened to be close by and were without even knowing whose boats were unanchored, brought them to higher ground. But I learned my lesson. Even if I don't think I'll be gone long, tie the boats up!