Billy Coffey
Billy Coffey

In the boat

July 29, 2009  


My kids have become rather avid readers, one of the few positive attributes they’ve inherited from me. And as such, the house seems to be overrun with Dr. Seuss, Jack and Jill, Winnie the Pooh, and an assortment of fairies and princesses. I am now reading and being read to, and that’s fine by me. Because wisdom can come from anywhere, and especially from kids and what they read.

For instance:

One could compare this world to a beautiful stream, big and power enough to almost be called a river but not quite. It winds and flows and no one knows exactly where it begins or ends, just that it does somewhere sometime. It is a grand thing, this stream. Its beauty and wonder can never truly be described, though many have tried.

You and I are on that stream. All of us. And we each have our own boat. They provide us with a place to sit, a roof to give us shelter, and two big, sturdy oars that can take us wherever we wish.

Some people think they have a better boat than others. They think their boat is a little roomier and more fancy. Others take great pains to decorate their boats. They paint and varnish and polish, going to great lengths to ensure their boats are different from everyone else’s. It might seem that is indeed the case, but in truth all of our boats are pretty much the same and we all have everything we need.

Lots of people don’t like the fact that their boat has oars. They say having oars means you have to try. God should have given us sails, they say. So they choose to sit in their boats and wait for God to use the oars for them. These people don’t get very far down the stream. Sure, sometimes the current moves them along a little. But mostly they just turn around and around and never really go anywhere.

Other people use their oars as hard and as often as they can. They never slow down. To them, the whole point of the boat and the stream is to beat everyone else. They have to win the race, even though no one is sure if there is a race or not or, if there is, what constitutes the finish line. So they row and row and row, faster and faster. Then they wonder how those nasty rocks and waterfalls they keep running into can sneak up on them so quickly.

The stream might be beautiful, but there are still plenty of dangers. You have to be careful. Focusing on being the first and the best can make them miss the pleasures of travelling down the stream. They don’t realize that using the oars too much is just as bad as not using them at all. Better is to just go along gently. We’ll all get there eventually. Easy does it. Better for the soul, I think.

Other people are more in touch with the situation. They realized that they are going to have to use the oars if they want to go anywhere, so they do. And things are fine for a while, but then they begin to tire. Using the oars is necessary, they say, but it is also a burden. They, too, forget the fun involved, the pleasures of heading farther and farther down the stream, and their hearts harden. They hate the water and they hate the God who put them there. The smile they might have once had is now a frown, and when their boat passes another’s there are no pleasant greetings or warm welcomes, just anger and resentment.

That isn’t the way God wants us to navigate the stream, either. Sure, it’s hard. But we have to enjoy ourselves. We have to have fun along the way.

Finally, there are the folks who think there is nothing but the stream. They study the stream, analyze the currents, and theorize about how it all came to be. Their eyes are fixed on what is beneath them, but not what is around them. In all of their pontificating and study, they fail to see the Truth.

But that isn’t the way to go, either. Dreams and faith and hope and all the other things no one can see are the most important things when you go down the stream.

I’ve known all of this for a while, and chances are you have, too. But I was never quite sure how to communicate it. Not until the other night. Not until I read:

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.

I’ve had a rocky ride down that stream sometimes, but I’ve always tried to keep rowing. It’s not easy sometimes, but then again the point seems to be not to make things easier, but better. And all the sights along the way make the trip worthwhile.

I don’t fear reaching the end of the stream, either. By that time I figure my arms will be tired and I will need some rest anyway. So when the time come to put my oars down and get out of my boat, I may just have that wise children’s rhyme put on my tombstone.

Because life really is but a dream. And death? Death is simply when we wake up.

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Comments

  • Bridget Chumbley

    Eloquent as ever Billy!
    So simple…life is but a dream! Thank you for sharing.

  • Helen

    I agree with you about Children's Lit.
    My favorite nursery rhyme

    There once were two cats from Kilkenny
    Each thought there was one cat too many
    So they fought and they fit
    And they scratched and they bit
    Til instead of two cats, there weren't any.

  • Connie Arnold

    This is great, Billy! Who would have thought you could get so much from a little children's rhyme. Thanks for sharing this bit of wisdom.

  • Peter P

    You have an incredible gift, Billy.

    Thank you for sharing it with us!

  • Terri Tiffany

    Excellent–loved the last line:)

  • T. Anne

    This reminds me of the poem The awful rowing towards God' by Anne Sexton. Yours is much more uplifting :)

  • HisFireFly

    Well said, very well said.

    Thank you for continuing to use the gifts God has so obviously given to you.

  • Chris Godfredsen

    I am not afraid to reach the end of the stream any longer, either, Billy! Death is when we wake up.

    May He continue to give you eyes to see as you row merrily down the stream, my friend!

  • April

    That last line is a kicker…and, oh, so true! Fantastic, Billy!

  • Candace Jean July 16

    Amen! Thank you.

    This is the 3rd time in a row that "proses" has been the WV for your blog. What's up with that?

  • Heart2Heart

    Billy,

    How interesting this post was! At the beginning when you were talking about all the children's books lying around your home, I was thinking this was going to be about Dr. Seuss!

    One of my all times favorites by the way. I love how this post ebbed and flowed much like that proverbial stream you talked about.

    I too find at times in life, I hate to row. I'd much rather sit back and look at the sights along the stream than to do manual labor and actually row.

    But there is something to be said for all that rowing, it's a perfect balance, between the rowing, the boat, the stream and the scenery we catch along the way.

    Balance is necessary and for now, I will find a way to enjoy rowing, after all it definitely keeps your arms looking amazing as you grow older! So I guess the oars are for strength in that journey!

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

  • Wendy @ All in a Day’s Thought

    I loved this. I'm convinced I feel most alive when I'm in a boat, so this post spoke to me.

    As I read this, I thought when my stream ends I hope it leads to the ocean (God's kingdom).

    This is one I'm going to read again. I love what children and child-like things can teach us.
    ~ Wendy

  • katdish

    So, which boat are you?

    Sometimes I feel like the boat with only one oar. The other oar is floating nearby, if I could only reach it. Alas, as I try to make my way over there, the current from my single oar pushes the other one further out of my reach. So there I sit, not drifting. Just going in circles.

    (katdish deepdish)

  • Denise

    This is wonderful Billy.

  • Anne L.B.

    Can't tell you how this post makes me smile. We describe that my father-in-law was not simply a don't-rock-my-boat man, but a don't-let-the-ripples-from-your-boat-touch-the-ripples-from-my-boat man.

    Then his son went and married a woman who thinks it's fun to tip the boat over every now and then just to keep life interesting. :P

  • Jeanne Damoff

    Nice! Your post reminded me of this video: http://tinyurl.com/mw4o5u

    If you've never heard Pomplamoose, check out their songs on YouTube. Delightful.

  • Beth E.

    You speak the truth, Billy! Thanks for another great post.

  • Blessed Mom of 8

    Beautifully written!

    Beautifully expressed!

    Beautifully ended!

    Well done faithful servant!

    Blessings and love – Jill

  • Sarah Salter

    Okay, so, I row fast… Breakneck speed. But it isn't because I'm trying to race anybody. Really, it's not. It's just because it's the only way I know to row…

  • RickNiekLikeBikes

    I learned from the Winnie The Pooh series never to lose so much weight that a heavy wind might pick you straight off the ground and land you some place strange–of course I wasn't being terribly serious there, but I did realize that if you learn to float through the air trusting and hoping, that the strange place might be scary and crazy but it will also be the next place wisdom, might, knowledge and understanding, faith and hope might grow.

    Thanks Winnie.

  • sherri

    This would be perfect for a tombstone- and I love the last live of the post. (and a bunch of lines before that one too!)

  • Jennifer @ Getting Down With Jesus

    Great analogy, Billy.

    I have too often been of the Two-Oars-Moving-Too-Fast variety, rushing down a wild river.

    River-rafting in Colorado a few weeks ago, I was so worried about following the commands to paddle forward (and also so terribly concerned that I would fall out!!) that I missed virtually all of the beautiful scenery around me.

    I need a slow down a bit, for sure, and take it a bit more merrily. :-)

    Great reminder.

  • lynnrush

    "Death is simply when we wake up."

    So true! :-)

  • Lanette

    "It’s not easy sometimes, but then again the point seems to be not to make things easier, but better."

    So true. Once again very inspiring. Thanks!

  • Doug Spurling

    Thanks again Billy, I needed that. "gently down the stream." I've been rowing "up" the stream and at times "up" a creek w/o a paddle. – Hope it's alright but I'm gonna set down the oars a minute and go fishing. You're always welcome to join us if you want.

    Keep Shining.

  • jasonS

    love it- great as always.

  • KM Wilsher

    Wow. Just when I think you have to be running out of unique (I mean you are just a flowing river of creativity and inspiration). . .well look at this. I love that last line. . .gonna take it with me in my heart :) Thanks!

  • Rebecca on The Homefront

    I, too, love that last line. "Death is simply when we wake up."