It never occurred to me, as I would sit on the shore and watch kayakers glide effortlessly past, that when they raised their paddle up out of the water on one side of the kayak, to then stroke the water on the opposite side of the kayak, a few residual water droplets were carried up on the end of the paddle, only to then roll downward with gravity … and land conveniently in the kayaker’s lap.
The things you never know … until you are the one in the kayak … attempting to stroke with both sides of your paddle.
I’m sure there must be a technique to avoid this water-down-the-paddle-and-into-the-lap occurrence. And I’m sure that with time and plenty of practice I will eventually master it.
In the meantime, I have discovered that if I stick to paddling on only one side of the kayak, while hubby paddles on the other side of the kayak, then I avoid this little problem of water constantly landing in my lap … and … my lap has a chance to dry out!
With each of us paddling on opposite sides of the kayak, it is possible to proceed forward on a straight course, without veering off one way or the other.
It takes teamwork.
So also, relationships take teamwork.
If each person in the relationship is haphazardly paddling this way and that, then the relationship cannot stay on a straight, stable course. One moment, one person is veering the relationship off to this side. Then the next moment, the other person is veering the relationship off to the other side. The relationship can’t really “go anywhere.”
On top of it all, haphazard paddling results in a lot of water running down the paddles and landing in the laps. Eventually, a substantial amount of water winds up filling the bottom of the kayak.
Relationships require teamwork!
* Working together as a team, the relationship is able to chart a straight course forward.
* Working together as a team, the relationship can “go places” … a destination can be reached!
* Working together as a team helps avoid taking-on unnecessary water (which might eventually “sink” the relationship).
Teamwork results in stability … even on the roughest “seas of life.”
