Four Kayaks in The Water

GLEN: We had a different and very nice experience on the kayaks this morning. A young couple very dear to us, Sterling and Sara, sailed with us. It was really great to see 4 kayaks in the water, and even better to share the experience with such friends and fellow believers.

FRANCES: I enjoyed kayaking with Sterling and Sara as well. I loved watching how gracefully their kayaks moved through the water. The kayak always seems to move so slowly when you are the one paddling, but it seems to move so fast when you watch the person beside you.

Sterling is a fine young man, a fireman, and the son of the man who led me to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The story I often tell about Sterling is about his response to a question I raised in a Bible study when he was only 10 or 11 years old. “How does Satan seek to deceive us?” I asked, and Sterling immediately said, “Uncle Glen, he makes good things seem bad, and bad things seem good.” Read those words again, and the profundity of them will hit you square between the eyes. To this day, I’ve never heard it said any better, and considering it came from one so young, and a normally very quiet boy to boot, the response remains one of my favorite sayings of all time.

I quoted Sterling saying this in my Powder Room blog just yesterday! (http://thecafepowderroom.blogspot.com/2009/08/thou-art-potter.html)

I haven’t known Sterling’s wife Sara for as long as I’ve known her husband, but she has captured our hearts as well. She is a very beautiful, intelligent, and sweet young lady, and hey, she handles her pink kayak like a pro! Yes, I said pink! Beautiful! Sara’s a third grade teacher, and her students are greatly blessed to have Sara as their teacher. And Sterling is greatly blessed to have her for a wife.

I can still remember my third grade teacher and she wasn't a beautiful young woman who would have been paddling a pink kayak! I never had fond memories of her, possibly because of a different sort of paddling she gave me.

Sterling has a yen to get close to alligators. Accordingly, he paddled close to the reeds to get a closer look, something Frances and I don’t do very often. We’re not scared of them, but we’re also not taking any chances of disturbing their morning nap either! Ah, to be a young man again, when you’re sure that if a gator jumps in your boat, it will be to his demise! And Sterling is a big, strong fellow, so a word to the wise for all you gators out there…

When Sterling was doing this, I joked that I didn't think my first aid kit would be sufficient if he encountered a gator. He immediately quipped, "You mean for the gator?"

Sara taught us the “kayak kiss.” That’s where you nudge your kayaks together bow to bow, or stern to stern. Newlyweds! Good idea, actually, although I personally like better the traditional form of kissing my bride.

I prefer not to have the kayaks touching, thank you. Ours are small and I'd rather not end up flipped and soaked.

Blessing, a blessing of God. That’s the only way to describe our trip today with our dear young friends that make us remember 30 years ago when we were just starting our life together. May our Lord bless Sterling and Sara with His wondrous love as he had Frances and me, and may He grant us many more kayaking trips together with them in days to come.

My sentiments exactly.