Sailing on a cardboard boat is a soggy adventure.
Last weekend our teen group travelled to a campground for Fall Retreat. The sun beamed down on us, providing the perfect weather for trying a new team-building activity. Mounds of cardboard, wrapping paper, drinking straws, and duct tape littered the lawn. We divided by grade levels and began our assignment to make a boat for an upcoming race.
Armed with a pink foam pool noodle, a red marker, and a box knife, my team of 9th graders began to brainstorm construction plans. Only one person could sail on the boat, so our lightest member was selected. The teens fashioned a small canoe with the foam noodle as the base. They then covered the canoe with straws and duct tape. A wrapping paper paddle and cardboard shield completed our boat entry.
We joined the odd assortment of boats at the edge of the lake. Pirates on huge inflatable rafts were already in the water. They might have looked intimidating if the rafts weren’t shaped like a rubber duck, unicorn, swan, and flamingo. The pirates’ mission was to sabotage any team who was having too much success reaching the finish line.
The boats gradually absorbed water and began sinking or disintegrating. Pirates helped speed up the demolition. By the time our boat reached the goal, it was merely a pool noodle dragging a few soggy shreds of cardboard and straws.
As we cleaned up the boat remains, I couldn’t help but think about how my life is sometimes like that cardboard boat. I’m trying to stay afloat, but all of the stress and burdens of life start soaking in until I’m a soggy mess. Sometimes it’s all I can do to keep from falling apart. And just when I think I might just make it, there’s a pirate trying to cause more chaos until my journey is even more challenging.
I’ve got to keep my eyes on the finish line and keep paddling, trusting that my creator knew what He was doing when He made me. My goal is to help a few other disintegrating boats hold it together and complete the race with me.