Stress and tension resulting from life's obstacles sometimes throw us off course. It seems that rivers have always played an important role in religion. The Bible says that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and as Jesus prayed, the heavens were opened. In the Hindu religion they believe in seven sacred rivers; Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganges River will cleanse them of their sins. I felt it was essential to illustrate a stable boat in my drawing on the river of spirituality. I believe our spiritual journey leads most of us down a series of river paths. Some rivers have clear skies with rocks along the way; other streams provide jagged lightning. My grandmother told me: "Isaiah, your life will flash before your eyes." I was close to my grandmother throughout my childhood. At the age of eight my teacher assigned me to write a story about my favorite person, I remember the project requirements like it was yesterday. I went to the stationery shop with my grandmother and she bought some red cardstock. I had the whole weekend to create the story; it was a difficult decision for me to make, it was the first time I had to choose between my family members. I weighed the pros and cons of the memories I had with all my relatives and narrowed it down to my grandmother. I created a two column layout, drew me and my grandmother on the left side and wrote the story on the right side. Monday morning I woke up an hour earlier than usual. I was excited to present my story to my classmates. My teacher liked the story, even though some of my classmates didn't understand why I didn't choose my mother. I didn't have an answer for them, I was too young to understand the kind of relationship I had... middle of paper... the advice is to open your eyes and just look around." (Bender, 1997, p. 120) . I believe Sue Bender understood how simple it was to recognize God's existence the same way I did: simply by analyzing what we have and being grateful for it. At the age of seventeen I began to lead my life without regretting my past mistakes. I also began to appreciate all the blessings that have been given to me throughout my life. My new positive attitude allowed me to officially achieve spiritual realization. As the Jimmy Cliff song says, "I can see clearly now that the rain is gone." My journey was clear to me, before I reached adulthood; I checked the weather forecast of my life, I didn't need a meteorologist. I realized that I could always face rocks, whirlpools, and waterfalls along the way, but I have the ability to survive those events and keep paddling towards sunny weather.