January 17th, 2014

Double Trouble?

I came across this expression and the title of a book the other day. It describes what Jay Link discusses in his article The Focus of a Steward - Double Trouble. 
I have included it with this weeks email .

"When we were first married, my wife and I went on a weekend camping trip with my best friend, Tom, and his wife at a local lake. We decided to rent canoes for the afternoon. As our leisurely canoe ride ended, my wife and I rowed up to the dock and stepped out of our canoe. Tom and his wife pulled up next to our canoe intending to step out of their canoe into our canoe and then on to the dock. Tom's wife got out fine. But when Tom put his first foot into our canoe the shifting of his weight caused his canoe to begin drifting away and he found himself in the hilariously untenable position of trying to continue standing in two canoes moving away from each other. Unable to control the drift, he ended up doing the splits with hands flailing just before plunging head first into the lake - his feet still hooked over the side of each canoe. We all laughed until we cried at the slap-stick scene before us.

As comical as this scene is to imagine, I think many of us, quite unaware of it, might be in an equally untenable position - trying to straddle two different canoes that are moving in different directions. If you have ever been in a canoe, you know that trying to stand up in one canoe can be enough of a challenge. Trying to stand up in two canoes, as Tom discovered, is double trouble.

We have two Kingdoms - our spiritual kingdom and our material kingdom. And just as Tom found himself unsuccessfully straddling those two canoes, we too can find ourselves unsuccessfully attempting to straddle our two kingdoms - one foot planted in each even while they continue to drift apart - leaving us facing our own double trouble."    Continue Reading.....

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Mark W. Leavell
Rivers Not Reservoirs
7982 Hillcrest Trail
Jonesboro, Georgia 30236
his.rivers@gmail.com
770-703-4520

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