Watch the Ducks

When you are completely off balance, so much so that you are certain you will topple over - you bring the paddle down hard on the water’s surface, the way ducks bat their wings. You will feel your kayak right itself. Only by moving in the direction you least trust can you be saved.

Roger Rosenblatt, Kayak Morning

Last summer Pete made a spectacular airborne exit from his kayak due to the backwash of a speedboat. He could have used some paddle batting. But we did not have that skill in our toolbox. We also learned that we did not know how to re-enter a kayak in choppy waters.

The first ten steps of the 12 have required a lot of skill-building. I suppose that’s why I love the 11th step so much. We sit. We breathe. We seek. We ask. That’s it. When we are fighting for survival, we do NOT rest. We fight; we flee; we freeze; we cannot breathe. But there is such beauty in ceasing our labor and our struggle and instead, seeking conscious contact with a God who is crazy mad in love with you.

Wherever you are today, “only by moving in the direction you least trust can you be saved.” If you feel like fighting, fleeing, freezing or freaking out - in honor of Step 11 - take a few quiet moments and breathe. Look for the abundance in your life. Ask for what you need as it relates to wisdom and courage and power to serve.