In the River

I love a good adventure. Today, my brother, sister and I went with some family friends to a nearby river. And I'm not talking some puny little creek, this was a legitimate river.

We changed into old clothes and wore water shoes, knowing we'd get dirty thanks to the inner eager explorer inside each of us.

The water was really warm and for the most part, shallow. We hopped from rock to rock, skipped stones, tried catching crawdads, and did other "play in the river" things.

I was walking upstream and my brother Matthew was ahead of me, looking down in the water at the minnows. Suddenly, there was a splash noise and immediately he lifted his head, glanced at me, and asked if I threw a rock. I heard the sound, too, and thought the same thing-- that he was playing a trick on me to scare me. I told him I didn't toss anything. I asked if he did and was trying to play dumb or joke around. He said "no," but none of us believed the other. We let it be, forgot about it, and went back to our individual ventures.

Not long thereafter, I took a step and, out of the corner of my eye, caught sight of this huge, scaly, slimy, spine-like object slither away in the water.

I screamed like a little girl and yelled something very very stupid, "EEL!!! EEL!!!! THERE ARE EELS IN THESE WATERS!!!!!"

Someone told me once, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it probably is a duck." Well, let me tell ya. This thing looked like an eel and moved like an eel, so my first thought (obviously) was that it was, indeed, an eel. Later, after I got the attention of the rest of the group, it hit me that eels don't live in rivers (biology was never my favorite-- or best --subject). So much for that silly duck rule-of-thumb.

That thing, whatever it was, scared me so much. My body froze and was shaking for who knows how long. Now at least I knew what that sound was Matthew and I heard earlier.

Then someone looked yonder and pointed, shouting, "Look! Look!"

The puzzle finally came together. There must have been at least fifty fins flapping out of the water. Slowly, we moved closer and were able to identify what the mysterious beast was! Carp! They were swimming against the current trying to get upstream where the calm waters were. (Carp? Eel? Same thing, right? Wrong....)

My nerves, by this point, had calmed and we all stood there in the river watching in awe at the fish battle the forceful waters. They were SO big!! A few times, we got so close that we could even see their scales. It really was one of the neatest things I'd ever seen.

My friend Ally who was with us is obsessed with anything Japan-related. She informed me that the word "carp" actually comes from and is the translation of the Japanese word "koi." (You may have heard of koi fish before, whether you'e seen them at hotels or in little ponds at other attractions. The colorful variations of koi fish we know today are descendents of the common carp.)

When we left the river and made it home, I, being the nerd that I am, did some research. What I found out is pretty cool-- the word "koi" in Japanese is also a homophone for another Japanese word that means "affectionate love." This word association quickly caught on way long ago in the Japanese culture, and the koi fish are now symbolically representative of love, friendship and loyalty in various forms of art, music and literature.

By nature, the koi fish expands and contracts to the boundaries of its environment in order to fight past the currents, swimming forward and harmoniously through the waters even in suffering.

I love the picture of faith that the koi fish paints. God's Holy Spirit dwells inside of us and gives us strength to fight life's currents. As Christians, we battle constantly against worldliness but only because of His love, friendship and loyalty do we find strength to push through toward the calm waters. Even when we hurt or feel like giving up, His voice inside us says to "just keep swimming."

LOVE:  "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away."  Song of Solomon 8:7a

FRIENDSHIP:  "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."    John 15:15

LOYALTY:  "But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands, as at this time."   1 Kings 8:61


When we feel like we're being forced backward, His power kicks in. We make it to peace with Him and because of Him.

We never swim alone.

-Rachel