All the flooding this year has reminded me of a time years ago when it flooded the same way.
I've written before that we used to got to the lake and rent a fishing boat. We rented a boat at Beaver Creek boat dock, and we were going up the lake towards Forsyth, to a place called the Barker Hole to join Richard Combs there to fish for catfish.
We left the dock in daylight, about an hour before sundown. The lake was flooded into the fields beside the lake but Bob had no trouble staying in the main part of the lake. The tops of the trees were sticking out on both sides and it was easy to stay between them.
We got to the spot where Richard was waiting and we fished for a couple of hours. It was 9:30-10:00 o'clock, and we had fished all we wanted to, so Bob and I started back to the boat dock.
The farther we went, the thicker the fog got. It got so thick we could hardly see right in front of the boat at times.
The fishing boat we had rented was one of those small aluminum boats and was fine for fishing but it was old and didn't have the best running lights on it.
Bob was trying to stay in the channel of the lake and not stray out into the flooded fields where we might hit something that was covered by the flood waters. He just idled the motor to go as slow as possible so if we did happen to get out of the channel or hit something, maybe we wouldn't be going fast enough to do much damage, or capsize the boat.
Even then we managed to get out of the channel several times. We ran through brush or treetops a couple of times.
Going this slow and trying to stay in the channel took a long time. Going up the lake in the daylight had taken only 30 minutes or so, but the trip back in the dark and fog took about an hour and a half.
I was scared we were going to hit something and maybe sink, and I wanted to just stop and stay put until the fog cleared out or daylight, whichever came first, but Bob insisted on going on.
Anyone who knows Bob well knows that he doesn't want to waste any time just doing nothing! he said he could see well enough with our lights and what little moonlight there was to get us back to the dock. He said as soon as we got a little closer to the dock we'd be able to see its lights, then we could steer straight toward it and we'd be OK.
Well, the boat dock finally came into view, and we got back safely. Nothing ever had looked so good as all those lights shining through the fog.
While I was thinking about this story a couple of verses kept coming to mind, and I looked them up in the Bible. I found them in Matthew 7:13-14. These verses read like this, (13)" Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat;" (14) "Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
When Jesus said these words, I doubt He was talking about going up the lake in a rattletrap fishing boat, but they applied to that time then, just as they can apply to a different time in different circumstances.
The broad way which leadeth to destruction was like those flooded fields. It was all covered with water, and we could have gone right through it, but there were many hidden dangers that could have wrecked us, or destroyed us. We needed to stay in the channel of the lake where it was deeper, or the narrow way, and we knew we would be safe as long as we stayed there.
The same is true of our lives. We can choose the wide gate, the broad way, we can live just the way we want to, without any regard for anyone else, or for God. But sooner or later, when we live this way, it will lead to our destruction. There are many dangers for anybody that chooses to live without God in their life, life is more depressing, lonelier, tougher, and in the end, we are doomed to spend eternity separated from God.
When we stay in the narrow way, when we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, when we strive to live a faithful, righteous life, we are assured that we will spend eternity with our Savior, Jesus Christ, in that beautiful place called Heaven that He has prepared for us.
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