Stay in the Boat
Oct 4, 2001 by Mark Luczak
“That which I fear the most, God visits upon me.”
—Book of Job, 3:26-29
“It is the doom of man. That we forget.”
—Merlin, the Magician, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
We have all had bad, scary things happen to us.
Job really caught my attention with this one. God was pleased with Job. Job was happy with God. According to the Old Testament, God and Satan had a conversation about Job that went something like:
God (to Satan): “I really love Job. He is a good man who honors and obeys Me.”
Satan (to God): “Of course, he does. He's healthy and rich. He has a beautiful wife and children. What’s not to like? I’ll bet he wouldn’t have such good things to say about You, if it were otherwise.”
God: “OK, test him, but don’t hurt him.”
Satan: “If I can’t hurt him, how can I test him?”
God: “OK, you can do anything you want to him, but don’t kill him.”
Job proceeds to lose everything—wife, children, home, business—everything. Whatever he worries, whatever he fears, happens to him. Job is captured by his enemies. He is covered from head to toe with terrible sores. He wishes he were never born, but he hangs in there.
Eventually, God gives Job twice as much as he had before.
OK, so now you know Job and you know me, and you know I’m no Job. But I think I can make a point here.
The lesson learned. We can be as scared as we want. It doesn’t matter. It is both a blessing and a curse—that we forget.
Job: “What I feared the most, God has visited upon me.”
New Year’s Day 2001. The dreaded day is finally upon me.
Vacation of Fear
This could be a humorous speech—if it wasn’t so scary. And it wouldn’t be so scary—except every word is true. It is a story of adventure in a far-off land, of danger in deep water, of fear—and what it can do to a man.Oh, it starts peacefully enough.
My wife has always dreamed of a trip to Costa Rica. I have always dreamed of being her 'sugar daddy.' In October of 2000, as my dot com stock options began to dissolve before my eyes, I realized this might be my one chance to make her dream come true. So, I took it. Cashing in my options while they were still worth something, I made the call to our travel agent.
“Give me the works,” I said. “The Costa Rica Ultimate Adventure—with extra sauce and cheese and a side of danger.
When the itinerary arrived, my eyes immediately fell on the entry for January 1, 2001:
“Penas Blancas Adventure White Water Rafting”
Now, I am afraid of water. Especially, deep water, more especially rough, deep water.
Yes, there are crises in a man’s life. But my travel agent assured me this wasn’t one of them. Everything would be fine. Relax and enjoy the ride. People take their children on this trip. It is only a class 3.
Why didn’t I feel assured?
The big day comes. We stand in front of the hotel waiting for the van to take us to the river.
While we’re waiting for the van, let me give you a weather report. Costa Rica has two seasons—the rainy season and the dry season. We are in the middle of the rainy season. There are no rainouts. After weeks of rain, class 3 can become class 5—easily.
In front of the hotel, my wife asks the driver of the van if this is “Safe.”
He says, "You'll be fine. You'll love it."
Why don't I feel better?
We get to the water. It is over our heads—and we’re still sitting in the van! Now, for the first time, my wife is looking a little nervous.
She says, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you were right.” Well, now I’m mad. I’ve been married long enough to know that I’m not right. I’m never right. So we’re going! Just let me sit here a minute and gather my thoughts.
The guide says, “Are you OK?” And, of course, since the world revolves around me and my problems, I think he is speaking to me. But he wasn’t. There was a man sitting behind me. Sitting there, crying, really crying, “I don’t want to do this!”
The guide says, “You don’t have to, just stay in the van with the driver.”
“I can’t. You don’t know my wife. If I don’t go, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Finally, something made me laugh.
ANDAMOS ... WE RIDE!
I would tell you of the ride itself. But it isn’t important. The important part happened as I was crawling onto the river bank at the end of the ride. As I reached out to kiss and hug the wheel of the van that was going to take me back to the hotel, (my dry, safe, stationary hotel!)
The guide says, "First Time?"
I think I nodded my head, but I'm not sure.
"Stay in boat?" he asks.
I think I nodded, but I'm not sure.
He smiles and says, " . . . All Right!"
I realized something. I spent three months worrying about this day. He does this every day. He thinks he has the best job in the world—whitewater rafting all day.
Maybe he's right.
Lesson learned, my friends, lesson learned.
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