Follow Me

Author name

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to boat down the Hiwassee River with

Russell Hill, one of our church members, along with his brother and nephew. I had

kayaked down the Hiwassee a few times, but the last time I went I swamped my

flatwater kayak going through one of the rapids. So Russell asked me if I’d like to try

one of his open-boat canoes. I thought that sounded like fun. A new adventure!

So we loaded up the boats one Friday morning and headed for the river. Along the way,

he gave me an orientation on how canoeing is different from kayaking. Kayakers use a

double-bladed paddle which allows you to paddle on both sides of the boat, but

canoeists use a single-bladed paddle, which will get you going in circles if you don’t

know what you’re doing! He said paddling in a straight line will be the hardest thing I’ll

learn to do, and he was right. He showed me how to do it though, and after some

practice in that first stretch of the river, I began to get the hang of it.

As we approached each of the small class 1 and 2 rapids, he would give me a little

orientation to how we would navigate them. Then he simply said to me, “Follow me.”

And I did the best I could to follow the exact line through the rapids that he did. By the

end of the afternoon, I hadn’t swamped my boat or fallen out of it a single time! I

consider that a successful—and fun—river ride!

Russell said he couldn’t count the number of times he’d gone down the Hiwassee River.

Possibly 150 times or more. He’s long since graduated up to much rougher, tougher

rivers like the Ocoee and the Nantahala. He’s quite the skilled river runner, in the same

“boat” (so to speak) as some other church members like Bill Mitchum, Henry Allen, and

Hugh Bullock.

Russell was an experienced guide and a patient teacher. And he led me down the river

with two simple words: “Follow me.” In other words, go where I go. Do what I do. I’ll lead

you safely through.

It just so happens that “follow me” are the same two simple words Jesus has been

saying to folks in boats since the days of Simon and Andrew, James and John (Matthew

4:19, Mark 1:17). He says these two words at least twenty different times across the

Gospels. And they are among his last words to his disciples; he told Peter no less than

two times at the end of John, “Follow me” (John 21:19, 22).

Just like the Hiwassee River, our lives can sometimes roll along pretty smoothly, and

other times there can be some bumps, some choppy waters. But the call is the same.

Follow me. Go where I go. Do what I do. I’ll lead you safely through.