There will be no mighty river

The trip was drawing to a close. It had been fun. But the One who had made the rough, majestic mountains had not made Himself known yet. So, I took a hike down through the forest to a place where two rivers made their trails. One river roared down its course. Its white water splashed over immense rocks and boulders and occasional miniature waterfalls. Its thunderous sound carried a great distance from its banks. Its mist sprayed all those walking along its banks. The other river was small. "Stream" was a more appropos description. A person could jump it with one bound. Its sound was mostly blocked by the constant roar of the mightier river just 30 yards from it, but in the places where its trickle could be heard, it sounded like a large but continuous drip.

It was merely a last scene before the end of a weekend trip. Yet the message it carried let me know that the Maker of the two rivers' majesty just showed up. The message was enigmatically given, mirroring the cryptic messages given at the oracle of Delphi 2500 years before this scene. As time passed the message of this scene lingered and worked itself in my life.

But, it was this same scene two years later that impacted my life more immediately. I had come to the mighty riveronce again, but no roar could be heard, no splashing water over rocks, no mist on the skin. A drought had hit the region. Not a drop of water rolled down the mighty river's path. But the little stream 30 yards away was still trickling down the slope. Its banks were lush with green grass and flowers And its tiny sound was magnified in the silence of the forest.

The tiny sound, however, spoke a message so clearly and loudly. My aims had always been to follow religious teaching within an institution and to climb its hierarchical ladder to the top. But the One who had created my soul also created a scene for me to let me know that from this point on in my life the mighty river of religion in my life was not yielding a drop of water. It had dried up. There was no life in my ambitions. If I would just notice the real river of life, tiny in size comparison, yet much fuller in life, then I could know the one who gives life much better. He alone would sustain me without all the flash and glitz that religiosity might provide me.

It was not the message I wanted to hear, but it was the one I received. It has been true ever since I saw the scene. But, my sustenance has been continually supplied through the years by the giver of life and the teachings of the one who represented the creator of heaven and earth. I have learned that majesty of religiosity is not the path God placed me on. Instead, I learned that a simple trust in the small river of life has all the sustenance (and surprises) I need.

So be it.