OnFire #165 The Lesson of the Broken Paddle

Hi Folks:

We’re doing well. We had parent - teacher meetings last week at both of the boys’ schools and the reports are good. All indications are that Mark and Ian are settling into their schools. Teachers tell us they are well-mannered and relate well with their peers, and they are doing well in their classes. Having moved several times with them now, we wonder what effect it has upon them, and so we are encouraged when we hear good reports from other people.

Jan leaves on Friday for her pastor’s wives retreat. This is an annual event planned by our Baptist convention and she loves to attend. The boys and I will batch it on the weekend and we’ve already got some events planned. Ian’s school is in the provincial football finals and the game is Saturday. We’ll have some “man meals,” and hang around together. We enjoy this time together also.

Today is election day in the US. Greetings to our neighbours to the south and be assured of our prayers for your election process.

Today we start a series on some of the hardly-known people of the New Testament. We start in Romans 16.

Blessings for your week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The beginning of November brought a reminder that I hadn’t been in the canoe this month, so yesterday I loaded it on my trailer, packed the paddles and lifejacket, and drove across town to the reservoir at Irishtown Park.

I had a good breeze at my back so the paddling was easy as I explored this new area. I passed under a bridge and spotted two beaver lodges, one on each side of the arm of the lake. As I continued up the lake I could feel the wind picking up behind me, and before long I decided it was better to turn around.

As I turned back into the wind, I realized the wisdom of my decision. The twenty minutes I had taken to get this far would take many more to return, and I didn’t want to get caught out on this strange lake after dark. I put away my smaller paddle and dug in with my biggest blade. This is a custom paddle I made with my friend Dan a few years ago, and it has about a square foot of surface area to provide lots of power.

The paddle was a bit of an experiment. I made three at the time and Dan made a bunch, all from pine, which was cheap and available (always an attractive feature for a do-it-yourself-er). After we completed them, a number of old-timers were surprised that we would choose pine, since spruce is almost as light, is much stronger, and about the same cost. We pleaded ignorance and tried them out.

I broke the first one on a trip down the Clyde River last year. That is a story in itself. I made it for Jan and she had never even used it. This is not something I would recommend - that is, breaking someone’s gift before they use it. Jan doesn’t canoe a lot, but it was her paddle. She was disappointed.

The second broke about five minutes after I turned into the wind at Irishtown Park. I must say, Jan was not disappointed when I showed her MY broken paddle. In any case, the shaft broke and I had to chase down the floating blade so I wouldn’t lose the chance to tell a good story. See the picture on the website. www.onfireletter.com

I’ve discovered that pine is simply not strong or durable enough for heavy paddling. It makes a nice looking paddle, and as long as the going is easy it will work. But when the wind blows and the waves rise, the strain begins and then we find out whether the paddle is solid and strong.

In Romans 16:10, Paul asks the church in Rome to greet Apelles. We don’t know who he was, but we know something about him. The NIV says he was “tested and approved in Christ.” His character was well documented among the people. Life’s situations had tried him, and he had been found to be faithful to Jesus Christ.

Our character is tested all the time, most of all when we find ourselves under stress. I don’t have to tell you what stresses us the most. Money troubles. Job issues. Relationship problems. Health trouble. Uncertainty about the future. Troubles. Temptation. These situations reveal what we are made of, whether our character is strong or weak.

When we are tested, may we be found to be strong and true. Feeling weak? This is not unusual, but we can grow in strength by repenting from our sins when we blow it, learning from our mistakes, staying close to Jesus, and praying for strength. May we be like Apelles, not like my pine paddles.

Hope this helps. Be on fire.

Troy

OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Nov 4, 2008. To subscribe or reply, email him at onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com