Obstacles

Life is filled with obstacles and it always has been. If there were no obstacles there would be no stories. Every story has an obstacle or tension involved. If no obstacles, this earth would be heaven and we would be in our glorified bodies living out perfection. I was reminded of obstacles as I paddled Little Bull Creek the other day. In the past, as I would paddle this beautiful little creek feeding into Hillsdale Lake, I would try to paddle all the way to the 215th st. bridge. But, I would always be stopped by a large logjam just short of the goal. An obstacle. Logjams are called strainers by paddlers. A huge obstacle. Last year I noticed how the creek had created another channel and I followed it past the bridge. An obstacle conquered! The other day I paddled and took the alternate channel but found that spring rains had made two more strainers just before the bridge! Obstacles. Doesn't it seem sometimes that life is often "one step forward, two steps back"? My friend puts it this way: "constant and persistent trauma". So what do we do with the obstacles? I believe we just press forward. Because, sometimes it's "one step backward and two steps forward". Press on! Obstacles build character. You're not a failure when you fail, you're a failure when you quit.