Every Wednesday after my Aqua Fit Class I take a steam. You can see no one, but you can hear the voices of the women who are likewise enjoying the health effects of the steam.

“I go to church, say my prayers and go about my day.”

“When church is too busy, I can’t concentrate – I need it quieter. When I feel angry, bitter, I can’t go.”

“This is when you must go – you must pray. This is when you must go to church.”

Voices sharing the importance of prayer – the practicing of ones faith. Not only when it’s easy, but when it’s difficult.

It brought me back to crossing an adventure off my “Some Day List” – canoeing on the Grand River. Stephen an experienced canoeist volunteered to take me. It was early fall and that year we had received very little rain. The river was abnormally low, which meant that there were many rocks exposed, creating endless obstacles.

Stephen, having the prestige of being the experienced paddler, was the guide. I had the ‘Do as the guide tells you’ position. I became the official ‘rock spotter’. Stephen instructed me on how to do this. When a rock was sighted, I was to announce the direction as an O’clock – nine o’clock, one o’clock, get the picture? Nothing easy like, “Yo – to the right.” I found this rather taxing and by the time I sorted out which o’clock the rock was, there were no o’clocks left! On one occasion, we were not so fortunate, and yes, the rock spotter caused the expediters to tip.

We had a good laugh, righted ourselves and continued. The desire not to tip again had an amazing effect on my ability to calculate the o’clocks. I was now a pro. However, I was now nervous. Instead of simply being ignorant to the ways of the river, I was incredibly insecure and now a greater risk to the both of us. Stephen took charge.

When rough water appeared, with many rocks, he’d instruct me to paddle harder, which allowed us to move over and around them swiftly. Once the river became calm, he’d tell me to relax and enjoy the scenery.

What this showed me was that, before the great tip, every time I saw a rock in front, I panicked and stopped paddling. Then when the river was calm, I paddled with great gusto. Here I could have been enjoying myself and conserving my energy.

I realized that I did this in my life. I allowed obstacles and challenges to have so much attention that they became larger than necessary. Then when times were easier, I kept up a vigorous pace.

Now, when life is rough, I tell myself to not throw up my hands. Instead I gather momentum, set my focus for the desired outcome and keep going. Then when life presents me with some ease, I take it and enjoy the time to pause.

May the woman in the steam pray through the noise, through her anger and her bitterness.

May she pray until she comes to smooth waters and then grant herself the joy of enjoying the scenery.

Photo by; Sharon Cooke, Grand Bend Ontario