Kayaking in the courts of heaven

I went kayaking this afternoon. In reality, I should have been studying for my Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing class or doing G.Chem homework or, better yet, getting some much needed sleep (we drove all Saturday night coming back from a SEYC promotional trip to Shenandoah Valley Academy.) But instead, the afternoon found me playing in the rapids of the Hiwassee river. (Allana can be very persuasive! :)

Do I regret it? Not in the least! And I even got my combat roll down! (That's when the rapids flip you upside down and you successfully roll your kayak back over without having to bail. It's called a "combat" roll because it's done while being pushed along by the strong current and not simply performed in still water.)

This small, seemingly insignificant update is an illustration of something God has been teaching me this semester. Relationships trump everything else. God put us here on earth to build relationships and to reach other humans with our testimony. We can't share our testimony without first building a trusting relationship. And we can't build relationships without investing time. And investing time into relationships means putting them higher on the "priority" list then might be considered "prudent" by the world's competitive arena. But I am looking ahead to the heavenly courts where resume' s, GPA, and all the high honors in the world will mean little if relationships haven't been built.