A River Runs: The Wisdom of Its Flow

As a boy, we would fish at Glorieta Pass in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The Pecos flowed through the canyon.

While putting the hook into the water, I loved to watch the river flow. At times, it would tumble across riverbed boulders that created eddies. Other times it caressed the banks where erosion changed the river’s course in minute ways. It would come to a bend and pool. The only motion was a ripple of a fly landing on the surface.

Silt would come in, and other small tributaries added to its flow

Life is like that river. It flows along, and we change with each moment in life. A baby’s cry changes a home. Teen tears exude with the coming-of-age drama, and wrinkles signal life is ebbing away.

I have examined where life has taken me over several years. Here is the accumulation:

• The best “yes” is a good “no.”
• Habits trump self-discipline.
• Little things done consistently over time produce significant results.
• Beliefs govern everything else. Confront what you believe and test it regularly.
• Life doesn’t care what I want. Live with it.
• Take time for fun. Life is short.
• Eat right, not according to some diet.
• You can endure anything if you know where it will lead.
• Trouble is a great teacher.
• Not all people have to like me for me to be content.
• Avoid rigid people. They have no bend.
• It’s better to be kind than right.
• Read, read, read. I never improve more than when a book is in my hand.
• Most of my misery is between my ears.
• The position doesn’t matter. Influence does.
• Writing is easy. Good writing is hard.
• Deliberate daily gratitude deepens life.
• No one improves their aches and pains by complaining about them.

Many bad decisions (and a few good ones) contributed to those lessons. Most came because someone entered my life at the right time and cared for me.

Experience validates the truth of In Proverbs 3:5-6.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Learn from others. Listen to failure. Both can teach you much but trust that God has a path and that if you follow his lead, he will teach you how you should go.

Let each year enrich you. The one who is continually learning and growing never gets stale.

So the river runs on. Where is yours taking you?