Maurice:

 

I just wanted to check in with you to see how things are going.  I got back over the weekend from my whitewater kayak experience.  I have learned a new meaning of the word "fear".  With all other sports there is always a way to safely avoid hazards.  There is only one way through the rapids; straight ahead.  I spent a lot of time upside down, tumbling down the river, wondering if this is where my life here on earth was going to end.  Halfway through, I was ready to throw in the towel and just give up.  In fact on Wednesday night I laid there in my tent concocting various excuses to give my paddling instructors the next day why I had to leave and go home.  Needless to say I was seriously depressed and dejected.  I felt like a failure because I just couldn't seem to get it and I was frustrated.  Finally, I told myself that I have never been a quitter and I was not going to let my fears and my frustrations conquer me.  The best advice I got from my paddling instructors was that as I approached the rapids to lean forward and keep paddling; don't stop.  Too often beginners stop paddling and adopt a wait and see attitude.  That is when they are at the mercy of the river, overcome by its momentum, their craft is no longer under their control.  The result most of the time is they wind up flipping over, having to exit their kayak underwater, retrieve it and their paddle downstream, find their way into an eddy, empty the water out of the kayak and start over.

 

Now the reason I am telling you this is because I realized that doing home church is the same way.  Read the paragraph above but substitute doing home church instead of kayaking.  As we start doing something new, there are fears, unknown obstacles, and the rushing momentum of our daily lives to keep us from successfully navigating the rapids.  If we keep our eyes focused on where we are going (don't look at the hazards because as I learned you will just head right for it), lean forward, and keep paddling for all we are worth; we will find ourselves able to navigate through the rocky areas of home church.  Make sense?

 

This only occurred to me as I was beginning to write this email to you.  It wasn't until I was into about the fourth sentence of this email that I realized what I was actually writing to you about. Our home church has been going through some rocky waters the last few months.  I believe it is because we stopped paddling forward and just stopped, waiting to see what is going to happen.  I am committed as ever to what I am doing, but just hate to see the discouragement in our group.  That is what the enemy wants and I am righteously angered that it is having an effect on us.  Keep us in your prayers.