LOOKING AT A PHOTO TAKEN DURING A TRIP to visit our family in China two years ago brought back happy memories and a Bible verse that helped me. On our third day there, I chose this as my inspirational theme for the day, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. 118:24). I chose it to help me with a concern I had that this day might be a disappointment for my grandsons (ages nine, six, and four). Compared to our other day trips spent climbing around the Three Gorges Dam site and hiking up steep banks to explore the ancient city of Fengdu, nicknamed "The Ghost City," today's agenda looked pretty tame—sitting in a sampan on the Yangtze River with a bunch of adults all day.
At breakfast all three boys greeted me with high spirits, cheerful anticipation, and "Let's go Grandma!" Disembarking our large passenger cruise ship, a smaller vessel delivered us through mountainrimmed Sheng Nong Xi Gorge to the mouth of a tributary stream. We docked, splitting into small groups to navigate upstream in boats called "pea pods" (easy to see why, as we sat two by two in seven rows). All of us were now firmly in place for the next few hours and I wondered if spirits would start to droop. But I reminded myself that this was the day "the Lord hath made" and could only be filled with gladness.
Strong and skillful river men called "trackers" slowly pulled our boats along the shallow waterway, a method used to transport goods from inland China to the Yangtze River valley for centuries. As the men managed their ropes slung from shoulder harnesses, they chanted to keep rhythm and to break the arduous monotony. Our local guide tried to blend our voices with hers and theirs in a chant or two. All the while the boys were absorbed—fascinated by sights, sound, and stories the guide shared. Not only had they adjusted well to sitting, they were glued to their seats paying rapt attention.
