Hmmm. Risk life and limb by plummeting 40 feet over the dam...or...not. We chose not.
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the Mississippi River, and the bunch of us were in 24-foot-length voyageur canoes. The logical choice (okay fine, probably the only legal choice as well) was to navigate the change in elevation by going through a lock.
If you’re unfamiliar with locks, they’re pretty much like enormous metal bathtubs. This particular baby was 56 feet wide by 400 feet long. Boats, barges and other types of watercraft enter at one end, giant thick gates close behind them, and – depending on whether you’re headed down river or up river – water gets pumped out of or into the lock until the water levels are equalized with your desired destination.
Now this might not sound very dramatic, but believe me, descending 40 feet in the confines of a canoe makes one realize that an AWFUL LOT of trust is being placed in the capacity of the gates to hold strong against the incredible pressure of the flowing river. I for one have no desire to experience what would happen if a lock were to fail.
But here’s the thing. Prior to our descent, the lock master threw guide ropes to us. We were to use them to hold steady as the water was pumped out, and to prevent us from capsizing in the current (think the mini tornado that encircles the drain in your tub as water rushes out).
So there we were, watching as the sky started disappearing from view and a thick metal box seemed to literally grow up around us, as we descended lower and lower. Literally at the end of our rope, our only job was to hang on, simply trusting that the lock master knew what he or she was doing.
Makes me think of the times in life that I’m at the end of my own rope, feeling helpless and vulnerable in the midst of swirling pressures, unable to see the changing landscape just beyond the thick walls. And in times like that, my only choice is to keep focused on the unseen Lock Master, trusting that He knows what He’s doing, that He’ll hold the other end of the rope steady on my behalf, that He’s protecting me from needlessly plummeting over the dam I might not even realize exists.
The following song was written by my good friends Deb Rempel and Keith Stacey Rowe. For those of you at the end of your rope, may it bring courage and strength.
END OF ME
© Deb Rempel and Keith Stacey Rowe
Performed by Keith Stacey Rowe
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Another hard day
Of being beaten down
Too much to do and it
Seems everybody wants it now
It's so hard to think
That I'll face it again
Tomorrow when this day
Does not seem to end
Tomorrow when this day
Does not seem to end
Lord is this when I can give up
Lord is this when I've struggled enough
Lord is this when I cry out "I'm through!"
Is it the end of me, the beginning of You
Is it the end of me, the beginning of You
I can't seem to stand
When life crashes in
I stoop to impatience and I
Bow to the strain
O Jesus I'm falling I'm falling I'm
Falling again
Reaching my limit
Nearing my end
Reaching my limit
Nearing my end
Lord is this when I can give up
Lord is this when I've struggled enough
Lord is this when I cry out "I'm through!"
Is it the end of me, the beginning of You
Is it the end of me, the beginning of You
Oh Lord I surrender
I give you myself
Cause you've never failed me
When I call for help
And here are my failures
My struggles, my pride
Hold me, enfold me
Live through me
Christ!
Lord now is when I give up
Lord now is when I've struggled enough
Lord now I cry out
"I'm through!"
It's the end of me, the beginning of You
It's the end of me, the beginning of You
Surrender, surrender, surrender to You
