Comstock Chronicles: Kayaks

power to steer, see, and paddle

We’ve just returned from kayaking around the canals and inlets around Sunset Beach. It was perfect weather with scattered high clouds and highs in the 70’s. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and after 30 minutes of the big kids arguing about how to man their kayak together, they enjoyed themselves too.

For those first 30 minutes, though, we plagued the quiet morning canals with the sounds of bickering. I even apologized to a woman who, for a time, was paddling alongside us.

“Not to worry,” the woman replied. “They sound like my husband and I when we try to kayak together.”

I wondered how long it’d take them to work out their differences, and I entertained the idea of this being an excellent way to force people to work together. Benny and I cruised along peacefully at a safe distance, listening to their retorts and insults and clapping paddles, which they used as weapons against each other.

I chuckled to myself about how Lee couldn’t jump ship to get away from his criticizing sister, and how Rose’s sharp tongue couldn’t make Lee do things her way. They would have to figure it out or Benny and I would beat them. Heaven forbid!

On the two-hour tour, we stopped at three little beaches where the kids swam, played at the parks, and ate snacks. The first beach was unpleasant as the big kids hadn’t worked out their differences yet, but the second and third were delightful! We landed our kayaks in the soft sand alongside other vessels, and let our arms have a rest. I’m going to be sore tomorrow and my blister may take a few days to heal.

Naturally, my battling children in a kayak prompted me to think of marriage: two people stuck together learning how to navigate and power a vessel lest they accidentally ram someone’s expensive yacht named Valhalla.

In a kayak, if one person is much heavier than another, that person should sit in the back where they will be in the best position to steer. The person in the front technically could steer too just not as easily. The person in the front has a better view of what’s ahead and sets the paddling pace. Likewise, in marriage some are better at seeing ahead, some are better at setting the pace, and some are more spiritually aware and thus should probably steer the family toward Christ.

I think Scripture is silent about who ought to be the rhythm-setter or steerer or see-ahead-er in marriage or in the church. I don’t think it’s an obvious choice based on men and woman’s obvious differences either. Neither gender has an obvious steering or seeing position over the other.

People find themselves in all sorts of roles with all sorts of advantages or disadvantages. Thus, God’s Kingdom growing inside us like a mustard seed can’t be dependent on such things. After all, scripture isn’t about getting us into certain earthly positions. No. Scripture is about how to paddle to God’s rhythms, steer towards the Kingdom of Heaven, and fix our sights on Christ here and now.