The River

I've been reading a wonderful book by Dutch Sheets called "The River of God". And this may be the reason that I started reflecting upon a vision that I had several years ago.
First of all, please understand that at the time I did not consider this a vision. I just thought I was thinking and this came to mind. As I have learned more about God and how his Holy Spirit works in us I now know that this was a vision from him.
Some of you may remember when we were all still attending St. John's in Marysville. And we had a time when the vestry members, and some others, agreed to spend Saturdays in prayer, at the church. We each took a one hour slot and from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. someone was there praying for the church.
One day I started writing in a notebook that was there for that purpose. And I wrote about a beautiful little river. The river wasn't a huge thing like the Mississippi, or even like the Sacramento. It was more like the upper reaches of the Yuba or Feather Rivers.
In this vision I saw this lovely river. On the far side were tall bluffs of dark rock. I knew that in the rainy season there would be small waterfalls coming down. At the base of the bluffs were boulders of various sizes. Perfect for sitting and soaking up the sun's warmth.
On the near side of the river were trees of all sorts, in full summer leaf. The trees opened onto a sandy beach which gradually shelved off into the river.
A person could wade into this river, with no fear of a big drop off. You could just get your toes wet, or wade in up to your ankles, or your knees. You could go up as far as your thighs, your hips, your waist. Or you could just dive in and swim.
I knew this river, this place, was somewhere that I could stay forever. And I knew that the choice was mine (and everyone's) how far we wanted to go into the river.
Some months later I was going through a period of Spiritual dryness. I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue attending church. I felt as though I had lost my way. I was just feeling lost and alone. And Pastor Joy told us about a woman's Christian retreat that was going to be held at the Bishop's Ranch in Healdsburg. Joy was going to be the guest speaker for the retreat. And I decided to go, along with several other women from the congregation.
One of the main themes of the weekend was Scripture Ezekiel 47: 1-12, where the vision of the river coming from the city of God is described. I cannot recall ever in my life having read or heard that scripture before. But it was so much like the vision that was given to me at St. John's many months before.
Pastor Joy invited all who wanted to go into the river, deep enough to swim, to come up for prayer. I think every woman who was in attendance came up. I was one of the last, because I still wasn't sure that I wanted to commit that much of me to God. But then, in tears, I knew that I had to have all God would give me.
My dear friend Katrina, who was also at the conference, gave me a little card later that expressed it all. She had written, very simply "Let's go swimming".
And I invite all of you who read this ~ Let's go swimming!