Last Saturday, my family embarked on a different type of family vacation; with pounding hearts and smiling eyes, we white water rafted down one of America’s Top Ten rivers deep in the folds of the Appalachian Mountains. White water rafting was quite a change from our typically quaint lake or beach trip. Don’t get me wrong, a summer day in a hammock or on the sandy shore is a much appreciated (and oftentimes, a needed) escape in our household. However, this eye opening experience served as a bonding tool and sparked a greater appreciation for challenges and opportunities in the rapids of life. 

My mom had been talking about taking a rafting trip for several months. Like any other family, we face the battle of, “Well, we have practice,” or “I have church camp,” or my personal favorite classic, “I HAVE to use my gym membership that I paid for with my own money.” All of which limit our vacation time during the summer. Sweltering weekends at various softball fields across the southeast, with one bathroom stall and an overpriced concession stand are not exactly the type of the getaway my family had in mind this weekend. So we saw the opportunity and went All Forward. 

Once we arrived at the Outdoor Adventure Rafting outpost in Ocoee, Tennessee we passed in our paperwork and felt like we signed our lives away with the liability waivers noting the “risks,” “dangers,” “possibilities” and potential “losses.” We then collected our appropriate safety gear and heard all the corny jokes the raft guides shared to lighten the mood of the upcoming unknown we would face within the hour. 

During this time, it was also noted that I was a student at The University of Alabama and everyone joined in and chanted “Roll Tide,” but honestly it sounded more like a “Row Tyde.” Then came the jokes of “Do you guys even have a football team?” and the awkward, “I went to Auburn” statement. 

Shortly after introductions, we boarded our form of transportation for the next half hour, which was the traditional yellow school bus with giant blue rafts atop to eventually put-in. Finally, we followed our guide, Scooter, and nervously placed our boat in the anything-less-but-warm Ocoee River and hopped in for the ride of our lives. We endured rapids with names such as, “Broken Nose,” “Diamond Splitter,” “Table Saw” and “Hell’s Hole", and clearly the names speak for themselves. We were also informed that we would raft the 1996 Olympic Kayaking Competition rapid, also known as “Godzilla” and “Humongous.” 

However, during each anxious and sometimes unsettling moment Scooter never failed to inform us of exactly what action we needed to take. We relied on his wisdom and guidance to survive the challenge fighting the current and circumstances. Another twist about Scooter, he was one of the trip leaders and my family just so happened to be in the Lead Boat. For each rapid we set-up safety, which meant we were the first raft to experience the feel of the rapid, while the other rafts on our trip followed behind. Also, after the larger class IV rapids we waited to collect the "swimmers," or people who had fallen out of their rafts. Luckily, I avoided the 50/50 chance of catapulting from our raft for the entire ten miles. But who knew I would witness my 13-year-old sister pull a boy twice her weight back into the boat with her newly adopted Rescue Position? Never knew I had a little brother… 

Between the intensity of the High Water and Hydraulics, we had the opportunity to experience the intricacy of God’s creation. Everything we witnessed on the Ocoee River served as a productive and meaningful role in that ecosystem. The beauty of nature and the commands Scooter shouted for six hours began to intertwine in symbolic meaning. During the ten miles, we were tested and tried on our strength against the current and our reaction under pressure. 

Aside from sore shoulders and blistered hands, I took away from the trip that in life we are constantly Riding the Bull however, we just have to Brace In and go All In to successfully make it through. And like Scooter said, “Take a second and look back at that rapid. Sometimes it’s really easy to forget what’s behind us when we are caught up in getting through what is ahead.”