July 10, 2025
The River of Life
Last month, our family vacationed in western North Carolina. We explored Asheville, Andrews, Bryson City, and Cherokee. We visited the WNC Nature Center, the Folk Art Center, the Andrews Valley Rail Tour, and the Museum of the Cherokee People. We also went to the western entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Starting at the visitor center parking lot, we walked the 3.2 mile Oconaluftee River Trail.
Considering that we dragged along three kids, the complaining was fairly minimal. The morning light was just beginning to shimmer over the water. We would occasionally pause at the river’s edge to skip rocks and look for jumping fish. Along the trail, there were informative, historical markers that told the story of the park and the indigenous culture of the Cherokee.
One of the placards spoke of the Cherokee belief regarding the power of water. It reads:
Going to the Water
Cherokees believe that water, when treated with respect and handled with proper traditions, can cleanse the spirit and wash away diseases and problems. “Going to water” and wading into the river is a sacred ritual for some. Cherokees also practice the ritual today prior to playing stickball, a traditional game that is the forerunner of lacrosse.
“The Cherokee would go down to the water early in the morning every morning, wade out waist deep, take the water of the river and throw it up over his head, and say, ‘Wash away any thoughts or feelings that may hinder me from being closer to my God. Take away any thoughts or feelings that may hinder me from being closer to all my brothers and sisters on the earth, and the animals of the earth.’ And they would wash themselves and cleanse themselves every morning, and they would walk out of the water.”
(Freeman Owle, “Going to Water,” Living Stories of the Cherokee)
I was so struck by the primal power that water plays in our spiritual lives. Last Sunday, we explored the ritual of baptism. We Christians believe, as the Apostle Paul says: “We were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4) As we discussed on Sunday, we are not called to simply be baptized; we are called to live a baptismal life. We are dead to sin and we are new, redeemed beings. It seems to me that our beliefs are not dissimilar from the Cherokee. The Cherokee would splash the water as a reminder that they are to live in peace and harmony with God, other people, and all of creation. In many ways, our baptisms and our daily remembering of those baptisms are seeking to do the same thing.
Remember your baptism, friends. You are not defined by your sin, by your brokenness, by your mistakes, by what the world thinks about you, by what you think about you. You are defined by the God who made you and redeemed you. The God who speaks words of belovedness.
So, splash the water upon your face. Rub the tap over your fingers. Close your eyes in the shower and let the water remind you that God has made you new. Then walk out of the water and into newness of life.
