On our journey through the Northwest, we stopped in Spokane, Washington for the night and had the opportunity to walk downtown to see the Spokane River running through the walk-ways.  The Spokane River starts in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho and snakes it’s 111 mile way to the Columbia River that eventually pours into the Pacific Ocean.  A close friend of mine told me a fact about the Columbia River that dumps its fresh water into the Pacific Ocean.  There is so much force of the Columbia River when it drains into the ocean that scientists have found fresh water in the ocean 6 miles from where the Columbia River merges with the ocean.

In Spokane there is a spillway in the middle of the city where the water flows over it and produces electricity in the picture below.  On the right, you can see the large amount of water spilling over the spillway in a controlled way as the walls stop the water from spreading over the side walls.  Once on the other side, there seems to be a chaos of water going everywhere with white rapids going in every direction as it rapidly moves down-stream.

It’s like our life at times.  There are times when there seems to be control in our lives and everything is running smoothly as we see on the picture on the right.  All of our life is organized and we manage to get the things we need to do done.  We have enough money in the checking account to pay all of our bills.  Our children are getting all of their homework done and are getting to bed on time.  The projects at work are getting done in the time that we’ve been given to get them done.  Everything seems to be going the way we want things to go.

Then all hell breaks loose.  We experience chaos in our lives when the money runs out and we still have 10 bills to pay.  Deadlines come and we aren’t even half done with the project.  We don’t know which way is up or down.  The relationships that we deemed closest to us are breaking apart.  We seem to be tossed to and fro with no anchor to keep our lives steady.  It’s in these times that we do need a solid foundation on which to rest.

Isaiah, a prophet in the Old Testament speaks to our need for a solid rock when our lives seem to be in chaos.  “Though youths grow weary and tired and young men stumble and fall, those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31.  On this journey there are going to be times of controlled chaos but we have a rock to stand on when the winds and torrents of life tempt us to be blown off course.