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<DIV>Rafting with a hole in your raft</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Over the weekend I went river rafting with my
kids. It was a beautiful day and I was enjoying myself as we floated
along, when I ran into a stick just 1/2 hour into the trip. The stick
poked a good size hole in my raft. I immediately put my finger over the
hole, and asked my grandson if we had a long while to go on the
river. He said yes with this serious look on his face.
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Not wanting to spoil the trip, I kept my finger
over that hole for 2 more hours. It worked, it kept the raft afloat!
I went over the rocks and got stuck in trees a few times since I couldn't steer
very well with only one arm, but one of the family always got me going
again. Just as we got to the end of our route the raft went flat and my
son helped me get to shore. I enjoyed the ride and tried not to let the
problem spoil my experience. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is so much like life. We are sailing
along when a problem threatens us. We have to do what we can to stay
afloat, sometimes we need the help of others to keep us going. We can
still enjoy the ride or we can panic and make it worse. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><FONT size=+0>God is watching us and we are
not alone on this trip. He will see us through and we will arrive at the
shore and it will have been a good trip. We will be relieved that <U>We
Made It!</U> </FONT> </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2>At the end of the trip, my son was
saying I can't believe you made it that far with a hole as big as that!
And perhaps that's how it will be at the end of our trip. How could we
make it that far without sinking? It will be the grace of God, and
the help of our friends and family that kept us moving
along.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Carla</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>