The Flow

This morning I had plans. Life was awake and I was too. I wanted and planned and life happened. Not my plans. Not my desires. Not even my hopes. Life just happened. And I watched it. I watched it flow right past me and I didn’t touch it. I did not alter it nor intertwine it. I watched it and wondered. I wondered what it would be like if I stepped into that stream and soaked my feet. Would my path be softer? Would I feel an empathy for the others in the stream of life passing by? I watched and wondered and did not step into the stream and it flowed.

I thought about the lives of those who are remembered because they stepped into the stream of life. Some notable people have made huge impacts in that river. Some are remembered locally, regionally and even globally. Some have so impacted the course of the stream that others have imitated them. Some have stepped into the stream and repeated the same steps. Some have impacted hundreds of people in their lives because they chose to enter the stream. Other thousands and for some millions are still impacted each day, continually. I watched and did not enter the stream and it flowed.

Not all who have entered the stream are remembered for their kindness or good. Not all were promoters of blessings and love toward others. Not all saw the stream as the place to give of themselves to increase the stream. Some just dipped in to take for themselves that which would be for their benefit alone. They gave no care for others in the stream or for encouraging others to come into the stream. Motivation and manner of living is unmistakable in the stream. Purposes and plans are revealed by the change in the strength and course and impact each one makes in the stream. Some dam it up for their evil desires and care not for the souls of those who are drowned by their acts of selfishness. The tears are ignored. The cries are belittled. The pain is viewed merely as the cost of improving their own path. I watched and did not enter the stream and it flowed.

Some have entered in with grand plans and are swallowed up in the daily press of life that flows through. Some are quite mediocre and yet by timing or purity of choice or perhaps by mere happenstance they benefit everyone in the stream. Whether their praises are sung by those who follow is not the measure of their impact. They have entered the stream and magnified the flow and blessed those who also enter in. There are names which are recalled for years who splashed in the rippling stream of life to the pleasure and treasure of others who frolic in it with joy. Then, over time, their names slip away. Little recall remains of their days. Memories become fleeting; eventually disappearing completely. Still the stream they played in, flows and others enter in. I watched and did not enter the stream and it flowed.

Finally their time in the stream ends. Perhaps that is why I just watched it this day. I suppose no one desires their time to end. That may even be why they delay their entry into the stream they desire to excel in. A few moments, a few days more, just a little longer. Yet without entering, their time is just spent watching. They make no impact. They, as I, participate in the procrastination of the impact on the flow. To even be aware that there is a stream reveals that which is often denied. They have already dabbled a toe into the stream. There has been the acknowledging of the power and need of the stream. I and any others who are aware it exists are already more in it than we admit. It is probably a good time to impact the flow. It is time to complete our purpose. We all have a purpose in the flow of the stream. I watched and did not enter the stream and it flowed.

So what can I do? This morning I just watched. Today I did not seem to have the courage to step deep into the stream and cause the flow to move around me. I had plans. I had desires. I had hopes. Life just happened. And I watched it. My purpose did not occur this day. My impact was not felt. Yet today is not wasted. “Timing is everything” is often true. There is One who owns time for He created it for our use. In the time that I am given, I desire to lift high the banner of the One who created everything; time, the flow, even me and space and earth and all there is within the realm of all we can and cannot see. I lift high the banner of He who made me. He has declared that for His glory I am given my time in the stream of life. Still, I watched and did not enter the stream and it flowed.

His purpose is a wonderful thing to know. His plans are comfortable ways to walk in. Obedience to the One who has made us all is real impact. Our impact is beyond measure when it follows His desire. Each morning I have plans. Life is awake and so am I. I want and plan and life happens. Not my plans. Not my desires. Not even my hopes. Life just happens. And I watch it. I watch it flow right past me and I don’t touch it. What if today I don’t just watch it and wonder what it would be like? What if I step into that stream and soak my feet. Will my path be softer? Will I feel an empathy for the others in the stream of life no longer just passing by? Perhaps now, perhaps shortly, you will watch as I enter the stream and impact its flow.