When was the last time you saw three men running down a forest trail in the rain wearing flip-flops ?That's what my friend Brandon, Josh and I were doing last autumn. We were looking for a waterfall .We didn't have much time to get to the waterfall and back, so we were running. We were wearing flip-flops to prevent our shoes getting dirty. It was raining, but lightly. It kept us cool as we climbed over giant stones and through a shallow stream. We followed red arrows and crossed that stream several times, walking on toward the promised waterfall. Time was not on our side, however, and we were forced to turn around. As we started back, we looked at the shallow stream we had just crossed. Where did this rushing river come from? That was when we realized a flash flood was around! In the few minutes the water rose at a fast speed. Now there were no big stones to be seen-only what looked like lumps covered with rushing water. We had no choice but to move our way back carefully in the rushing water -in flip-flops. We had crossed the stream not once or twice, but six times in search of a waterfall that we never even reached! With most of the crossings, we needed each other's help if we didn't want to be washed away by water. Wet all over, we felt relaxed after we made the last crossing. "My dad always told me to keep off a river when travelling in the rain." Josh said as we hurried back down the path. "Why didn't you tell us that earlier?" I laughed. "Would it have made a difference?" came the reply. He had a point. Why didn't they find the waterfall in the end?
Because they were short of time. Because they were wearing flip-flops. Because Josh kept warning them not to go any further. Because the flood prevented them from going forward.