Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

2 Corinthians 4:1

I came across a picture cleaning my bathroom yesterday. Don't ask why me it was in the bathroom. It was in a pile of pictures including some pictures my mom took this past Spring Break when we spent the week back home.

The Duffau River in the picture runs behind my parent's house.....I say "runs". More accurately, the part of the Duffau behind my parent's house is a riverbed with small pools of water. It's pretty awesome having a riverbed behind your house. It's like having a built-in patio. And unlike the tall grass on a river's edge, the dry riverbed isn't all that inviting to rattlesnakes and chiggers.

Through the years the riverbed has been a gathering place for my family.  The menfolk do feats of courage and the women folk watch and shake their heads. This past Spring the young menfolk were made to think that honor could be earned by jumping into the frigid water. The earlier in succession, the more honor.

Hayden gained a lot of honor this past trip. Feeling rather invincible after being warmed by a camp fire, he grabbed me up and proceeded to walk back over to the water's edge as if to dump me in. Knowing that protesting wasn't going to help I just held on for dear life. My mom, as you can see, had the camera instead of my back.

Looking back, that was a fun day. For the record, Hayden wised up and didn't drop me in the water. But as I looked at this picture yesterday a title instantly popped into my head.

Up Creek

Because it was up creek. And as I notice the white knuckles and look of terror, I regrettably say that this picture quite resembles that up creek "in trouble" kind of feeling we parents find ourselves in some days.

There are days when parenting is tough. The kids refuse one too many times to perform simple tasks like flushing the toilet or closing the car door or being courteous to their sister or brother all before you leave the house at 7:45 AM.   As difficult as it is to say, our kids disappoint. We catch them in a lie or they blatantly disobey us.

We disappoint them too. And they let us know. There are days of friction and days when we lose our head. We don't let them go to that movie they were wanting to see; the one EVERYBODY else is going to see. We compare them to their brother, or their sister.  "Your sister has a much harder time with that, but at least she works hard at it". We do it even though we know better.

And even on days when both we and our children have pretty much done it right, there are forces outside our control that make for difficult days. Our kid suffers the actions of a thoughtless kid (or adult) and we have no idea how to go about bettering the situation. Do we email the teacher?  Try and diffuse the situation?

I can't tell you how many days we've struggled through one of those violent twenty-four hour stomach viruses with a trash basket and Sprite that won't stay down.  There's little you can do to bring comfort to your kids sometimes.

There are days a peck on the cheek won't help and a band aid won't fix it.

If only it were single days that parenting is tough. Sometimes we find ourselves in an entire season where parenting is out-right daunting; a season where time stands still and hope seems to move on ahead, nearly out of reach.

Finding ourselves up creek can be terrifying.

Having one of those "inquiring minds want to know" kind of minds, I wondered to myself where the term "up creek" comes from.

Come to find out, there's an actual creek, Haslar Creek in Portsmouth Harbor where wounded sailors were taken. "Up creek" was a Royal Naval Hospital where sailors in need of medical help were taken by tramline. Word has it that some tried to escape but found themselves "up creek without a paddle". I'm not making this stuff up. Just ask Wiktionary.

Days up creek without a paddle

Marooned like those sailors, we occasionally wish we could, with Enya, "Sail away, sail away, sail away"....at least for a weekend getaway.

We're stranded vessels; mom-shaped containers overflowing with fix-it methods, hugs and instructions, guidance and the recipe for their favorite cookies. And at the same time we often feel empty and worn out and without a clue; damaged like those sailors as Haslar Creek.

Like those sailors, we're at a place where there's help. Lucky for us, we have a God bigger than the universe that is able and willing to station himself up creek right with us on hard days.

Up creek is right where we find the help we need.

 2 Corinthians 4: 7{You see},  we have this treasure in earthen vessels,

And it's in times of great fatigue and failings that the treasure is revealed.

We find ourselves without a paddle to steer us.

 {But in time we'll experience}.... this all-surpassing power {that} is of God and not from ourselves;

{At times} 8we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed

And for seasons that we're stranded, a sea away from safety and answers, we're never without a guide.

Reminds me of a song.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful trip,
that started from this tropic port,
aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
the Skipper brave and sure,
five passengers set sail that day,
for a three hour tour,
a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
the tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
the Minnow would be lost.
The Minnow would be lost.

-Gilligan's Island Theme Song

Be fearless.  Be sure. We're never in this alone.

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father 1 Thessalonians 1:3