Last Saturday, I went kayaking with two of my younger friends on Moores Creek. There was nothing special about the creek, outside the fact that it is a local creek known for lots of wildlife and the fact that there was a famous Revolutionary War battle fought on this creek. What made this trip special was the fact that I got a chance to hang with these two friends and doing something together that we enjoy.
As I reflect back on the kayaking trip along Moores Creek, I am thinking about how busy most of us are today and how we fail to take the time to enjoy the gift of those around us. To me, it seems that we are so busy with trying to live the life we think we should be living, that we fail to grab a hold what the life we were created to live. For me this means that I get so focused on what I am doing at that moment, I fail to remember that there are people around me who need me. I get self-centered and only think about what I want.
For me, getting away from the rat race of the world around me, give me a chance to disconnect from the world and a chance to reconnect with who God made me to be. Saturday gave me a chance to get to know my two friends on a more personal level. A chance to know what makes them laugh, where they are at in there walks, some of their hopes and desires, a chance to learn what they are wrestling with in life. Why is that important? God made me and the rest of us to be someone who is a giver, not someone who is always taking from the world around me.
Each of us wants to be remembered for something in the life we have been given. We all strive to do something in our lives that is big and earth shattering. We believe we need to be known for something big like being the first man to step on the moon, or some great leader who brought world peace or cured some deadly sickness. All these things are good, but the reality is that most of us are normal people and will never accomplish something big like those things. But what if we began to see the big difference we could make in the lives of those God has chosen to place around us? What if I began to see the difference I could make in the life of my wife, my daughters and son, and my son-in-law, just by being a husband and father that truly loved them more than the things around me? What about the relationship with the other people around me? What difference could I make in their lives?
For me, I need to make the most of every opportunity I have been given. To be who God called me to be. Only He know the big picture and just maybe, the part that I place in someone’s life could be earth shattering, changing their life for the better.
Category: Kayaking
Kayaking on the Black River
Kayaking on the Black River / August 11, 2010
Yesterday, James MacLaren, Joseph (my son) and I spent the day paddling the Black River from Ivanhoe Road to Beattys Bridge. I was not quite sure what to expect on this trip, since this was my first adventure on the section of the Black River. You know the feeling, will the effort to get there and paddle this section be worth all that I have heard and read about this paddle. It was only a 3 hours and 35 minute float, so it could not be so bad.
As we drove to the launch site, the hot steamy summer weather of Southeastern North Carolina was kicking in and somehow I know it was going to be HOT! Yet we were rewarded with a beautiful river with plenty of opportunities to pull over and enjoy the shade of large trees. The Black River is formed by the confluence of Great Coharie and Six Runs Creek, just south of Clinton, North Carolina. The South River flows into the Black just south of Ivanhoe. Eventually the Black flows into the Cape Fear River just north of Wilmington. The Black River has been known for excellent water quality and was designated as an Outstanding Resource Water Resource in 1994.
As we began our adventure, the first thing that we noticed was the beauty of the surrounding forest that the Black River flows. We saw numerous large bald cypresses that would have taken all three of use to stretch our arms around. Cypress swamps are an amazing part of the eco-system. We tend to think that they are a damp dark place, but they play an important part of the local eco-system and are quite beautiful. The other thing that struck me was the number of white sand bars that there were along the river. Yesterday the river was low, due I guess from the lack of rain over the past several months here in, southeastern NC. But even at normal water levels there would be many sand bars to enjoy on a hot day.
Wildlife was abundant along this section of the river. We saw wood ducks, a wild turkey, several huge great blue herons, numerous other birds and even one alligator. The good thing is that he saw us coming before I spotted him, and he started heading the opposite direction from where we were headed. (In all honesty, gators pose very little danger to kayakers, not unless you start messing with them) We also saw numerous alligator gar fish. These fish are ancient fish that have a leathery skin and have a snout that looks like an alligator snout. I guess that is how they get their name. We saw several that were at least the length of my arm.
All in all, this was a great place for all levels of paddling. I even located a few excellent camping spots on some bluffs that over look the river. I have to remember these locations for a future overnight kayaking trip.