peace like a river

Kelli pointed out to me that "peace like a river" is a funny concept, because sometimes rivers are totally peaceful, but sometimes they are totally not.

Growing up I was taught every bend and twist of the Guadalupe River from my dad's motel to Gruene.  I still know that river the way I know my own body, still know the curves and bends, which side you want to be on to prevent capsizing or scraping your ace on the riverbottom.  My favorite time of year was the end of season, when the river authority would release water from Canyon Dam at much higher levels (3,000 - 5,000 CFS) than typical tourist days (around 250 CFS, depending on how much or little rain had been received that year). On those high river days, there weren't many rapids and you could fly down from Canyon Lake to Gruene in about 4 hours, which would normally take 8.  On the lower-CFS days, though, it seemed that the river struggled to get downstream.  It was those days that made me severely nervous about Hueco Springs.  For a video click here.

There's a rock in the middle of the river, which I was always strongly cautioned to stay away from at the risk of being sucked in the undercurrent and smashed against the rock, or worse, held underwater in that crazy washing machine-like chaos until spit up long after I had ceased breathing.

So, when I think about "peace like a river" I can't help but picture the calm and treacherous bends of the Guadalupe, and right now in my life seems to really reflect that picture.  Besides all the stuff that's going on in school (see previous post), today we put a bid in on a house that would require significant upgrading, but we really love the location and the prospect of updating a house.  Not five minutes ago, the hubs called me into the living room to look at a house that is the exact square footage, in the same price range and had been recently updated.  We're going to try to go look at that house either today or tomorrow.

I know that no matter what, we'll have a house probably by May and that we'll be in the place we're supposed to be.  I just think it's funny because I had no reservations about buying the fixer-upper, but was still praying that if we were supposed to be somewhere else, that God would make that available.  Coincidence?  Don't really know that yet.