The next morning was another perfect day to go out in the kayaks, and the day began exactly like the day before:
At breakfast Joe said to Haley, “This would be a perfect day to take the kayaks out on the Black River and go exploring.” Haley was so excited to hear this that she accidentally dropped her bowl of Fruit Loops on the floor! Then she accidentally stepped on the Fruit Loops, and they rolled under her feet, and she fell with a loud crunch! The crunch was the noise made by all the Fruit Loops being crushed to powder when her body landed on them. After the mess was cleaned up, they finished eating breakfast, then Joe got his crutches and went out to the barn. He hooked a trailer behind their four-wheeler and loaded their two kayaks, paddles, and life jackets onto the trailer. He used bungee cords to strap his crutches to the side of the four-wheeler. Sara and Daniel came out to the barn on got on the four-wheeler, and they left for the river.
The river was calm and peaceful this morning. Once Joe got into his kayak, he had Haley put his crutches on the 4-wheeler, he would not need his crutches while he was in the kayak. Daniel watched Haley getting into her kayak, then he decided! Daniel ran over to Joe’s kayak and got in with Joe! Daniel had seen how clumsy Haley could be, and he did not want to get dumped into the river! Joe’s kayak was much safer for the raccoon! They paddled side-by side for a while, then the river got a little narrower just before a curve. Joe said to Haley, “We need to go single file here. I will go in front. Joe paddled faster and took the lead, this time Haley obeyed Joe and stayed behind him while they went through the narrow place in the river and around the curve. After the curve the river split in three different directions, the main part of the river went straight, but there was a little creek that went to the left and another little creek that went to the right. Joe said to Haley, “You choose which way we should go exploring today, to the left, the right, or straight ahead.”
Haley thought for a moment and said, “Today I think I will choose the creek going to the left!” Haley took the lead and went up the creek that went to the left. It was a very quiet and lazy creek! It was very narrow, and the tree branches were not very far above their heads, it was like paddling their kayaks down a tunnel. The water was very shallow and clear. Haley could watch the little minnows swimming beside her kayak. She was so busy watching the minnows that she did not notice the tree branch right in front of her that was much lower than the other tree branches. She was not looking where she was going. Joe yelled to her, “Haley, look out for that tree branch, duck!” Haley was not paying attention, and all she heard was the word, ‘duck’. She turned around and yelled to Joe, “Where is the duck? I want to see a duck!” Just then her kayak went under that low tree branch and Haley was knocked right out of her kayak! Since the water was so shallow, she was able to stand up and get right back into the kayak. Joe laughed, and asked Haley if she ever watched where she was going. They paddled a little bit further and then they noticed that the creek was getting deeper and wider. They went around a curve in the creek and discovered a pond! The pond was about the size of a soccer field and was very calm. Around the edge of the pond there were a lot of logs and fallen trees sticking out of the water. Haley noticed that there were a lot of small dark objects on the logs and trees, and she asked Joe what they were. Joe said, “Let’s go closer and see what they are. Paddle very quietly and slowly, we must sneak up on those logs and trees.” So, Haley and Joe paddled slowly and quietly and got very close to the logs and fallen trees (Haley did not even fall out of her kayak). Then Haley saw what the dark things on the logs were, they were turtles! She whispered to Joe, “Look at all those turtles on the logs and trees, there must be around a hundred of them! Why are they on the logs and trees?” Joe answered, “Those are painted turtles. Like all turtles, they are cold-blooded, and they are on the logs to soak up the sunshine and warm up. Also, the warm sunshine helps to protect them from infections.” Haley could have sat there all day and looked at those turtles, but Daniel had a different idea! Daniel was hungry and he thought that those turtles would make a tasty snack! Daniel jumped out of Joe’s kayak so he could catch a turtle! Haley saw Daniel jump out of the kayak, so she jumped out of her kayak to catch Daniel. But the turtles were too fast for them! As soon as Daniel moved, all the turtles jumped into the water and disappeared! Haley looked through the clear water and could not see any turtles. She called to Joe, “Where did they go? One second, they were on the logs and trees, and the next second I cannot see them anywhere, what happened?” Joe answered, “When the turtles sensed danger, they jumped into the water and buried themselves in the mud at the bottom of the pond. They can hold their breath a long time, they will not come back to the logs and trees until you and Daniel are gone!”
Haley helped Daniel get back in Joe’s kayak, then she swam to her kayak to get in. It was harder this time because the pond was much deeper than the creek had been. She thought that she could climb onto the back part of the kayak where it was narrow, then scoot up to the middle of the kayak and get into the seat. That did not work! As soon as Haley got on to the back of the kayak, the back sunk down below the water, the front end came up out of the water and the kayak shot out from under Haley and landed with a splash about six feet in front of her! Then Haley had a better idea. She pushed the kayak next to a big log and climbed onto the log and carefully got into the kayak. Joe and Haley paddled to the middle of the pond and sat there quietly. After a while, one-by-one the turtles began climbing back up onto the logs to sun bath again.
While they were waiting for the turtles to get back on the logs, Joe said to Haley, “We can learn something from the turtles. When they first sensed danger, they got away from the danger right away. The turtles did not wait to see what Daniel wanted to do, they just got out of there and went to their place of safety in the mud. One of the biggest dangers we face is the danger of temptation to sin and do wrong. The Bible tells us to flee from temptation, but too often we wait for a while to see how bad the temptation is, then we end up giving in to the temptation and get ourselves into trouble. We need to be like the turtles and flee from the danger of temptation as soon as it appears. We need to go to our place of safety. Haley, do you know where our place of safety is?” Haley answered, “I know that our place of safety is being with God.”
Application:
One of the best ways to remember and understand the way temptation works is to illustrate it with a story:
Once there was a young girl who had been chosen to be the flower girl in a wedding. On the day of the wedding, they went to the ocean to take pictures. While the photographer was busy with the other people in the wedding party, the flower girl went down to the edge of the sand to watch the waves. She loved watching the waves come onto shore and then go back out into the ocean again. She wanted to play in the waves, but she knew that she could not get her pretty dress and her hair dirty and wet. After a few minutes she decided to take off her shoes; this was much better. Now she could chase the waves when they went back into the ocean, and when a new wave was coming onto shore, she could run very fast back to the dry sand. This was fun! She ran back and forth with the waves and kept her feet and her dress dry! One time when she was running from a wave, her foot slipped, and the wave caught up with her! The water washed over her feet and covered them with sand! At first the girl was scared, but then she noticed that her dress was still dry, and she could always clean off her feet later. The girl continued to play in the waves, she was still careful to keep her dress clean and dry, but her feet were wet, cold, and sandy. She loved to watch the waves cover her feet and feel her feet sink into the sand. She was so busy watching her feet that she did not notice that a big wave was headed toward shore! Suddenly the big wave hit her! The water splashed all the way up to her shoulders, and the force of the wave knocked her over! The wave rolled her over and over in the sand! Her nice dress was soaked and filled with sand, her hair that had been so carefully washed and curled was also soaked and filled with sand, dirt, and seaweed! The girl had played in the waves and spoiled the wedding!
Temptation is like the girl in that story. So many times, it looks like it would be so much fun to play with temptation a little bit. In our minds we say, it’s not so bad yet, and I can stop when it gets too dangerous (I can outrun the temptation). But soon the temptation will be strong, and it will overcome us, just like that big wave knocked the girl down and rolled her around in the sand.
Giving in to temptation can ruin your life. The Bible tells us not to play with temptation, but to run away from it!
In the Bible in II Timothy 2:22-24 (Contemporary English Version) it says:
Run away from temptations that capture young people. Always do the right thing. Be faithful, loving, and easy to get along with. Worship with people whose hearts are pure. Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. These only lead to trouble, and God’s servants must not be troublemakers. They must be kind to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient.