Life is a funny thing. This afternoon I found myself floating down the Clark Fork River in a tube rented from the Army Surplus store in town. I was surrounded by strangers, new friends who had taken me in, the lonely Texan in town all by herself.
Some of them I had met the night before, at a beer festival on the river in downtown Missoula. A few of them I had just met, while we were hiding the keys to our cars and leaving them in various parking lots. We put our tubes in the river at a place referred to as “White Trash Beach” and floated a few miles down the Clark Fork River, the water rushing from rains a few weeks back and chilling our toes at a balmy 58 degrees.
My chacos bobbed on the water and the smell of sunscreen hung in the air as we floated through some small rapids. As we got out of the water an hour or so down the way, some of the locals headed to work (as bartenders at a local upscale hotel) or wherever. I thanked them for being so nice to a random out-of-stater. I drove a few people back to their house with their tubes in the back of my Dad’s dust-covered Acura. As they climbed out, I found myself grateful for the chance to have time off from work, to get in a car and escape the familiar, to make friends and go tubing and just to appreciate all that the world has to offer. I found myself so thankful for the peace that doesn't come from a fulfilling job, or a close family, or fun friends back in Houston - though those things are awesome - but it comes from faith and from His Holiness and knowing that there is someone else in charge.
My first 48 hours alone in Missoula have passed, and I think the adventure is just beginning…
Peace. Love. Suntans & sunsets.
"I keep asking that the God of our Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." Ephesians 1:17
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