Navigating the waterways of Life, I recently had the opportunity to ride a boat on the backwaters of Alleppey, a city in the Indian State of Kerala. I was amazed at the trade routes and water transportation between villages, towns and other cities connected to the backwaters. Like the road commutes, the waterways had all shapes and sizes of boats. With the many large vessels carefully navigating the waterways, I noticed a few smaller one-manned and two-manned boats also navigating the waterways; some speed boats were rushing fast.
I could not help but wonder how seamlessly the boats moved past each other. It was almost as if the water acknowledged the boats, and the boats acknowledged each other; as a result, everyone knew how to navigate each other, avoiding major mishaps. While the mode of transportation varies, the goal continues to stay the same. It is to get from point 'A' to Point B.
As I sat pondering, I visualized our mortal journey back to our Father in Heaven. A Shikara boat would be good for sightseeing, or a boat house would be a better choice to stay the night; smaller vessels may be great for shorter commutes, and the list goes on. whatever the journey's goal is, there is always a way.
Our mortal journey consists of similar small or large commutes that require us to be in the boats, carefully navigating the waterways, or to let someone help us with that leg of the journey. This could be a parent helping a child grow, ourselves in school or among friends, with the bishop, with a companion on a mission, or spouses helping and growing together. Whatever part of the mortal journey we are in, like the ship that Nephi built, was 'put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards the promised land.'1 God will continue to sustain us as the water that sustains our vessel, the road that carries our vehicle, or the air that lifts as we soar high.
Like Nephi's unwavering faith amidst the hardships of his own family, we must also be prepared for our faith to be tested. Like the Liahona that helped Lehi and his family to navigate the waters to the promised land, as we continue to put in faithful efforts patiently, the Lord shall continue to help us navigate the waterways of Life.
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