Do I look unsinkable?
Shortly after this picture was taken, the current took me far away from friends and safety. Just a few minutes after this smile, I was struggling to keep my head above the water. I was most definitely not unsinkable. I fell off the paddleboard. It flipped upside down. I couldn’t grab onto anything to keep me afloat. I tried swimming, but the current was too strong. I turned over to float on my back, but a boat zipped by, sending wave after wave over my face. What else could I do stay afloat until help came?
Life can be like this day on the lake. One minute we are smiling, floating along, thinking we are unsinkable. Before we know it, some circumstance flips our “paddleboard” upside down. We can’t grab hold of anything to keep from going under. Our best efforts are of no use against the currents and of trouble and heartache. Just when we think we’ve found a way to “float” until help comes, something like that boat comes along to dash those hopes. What else can we do to keep from going under?
On the lake that day, just as I had run out of ideas, my friend came to my rescue. She grabbed me from behind and lifted my head out of the water so I could breathe. “I’ve got you. Put your head on my shoulder and breathe,” she said. For the first time since that paddleboard flipped, I could breathe without taking in water.
Two other friends arrived. The three of them helped me to shallow water where I could touch (it has to be pretty shallow, ’cause I’m not very tall). As we walked toward the bank, one friend tucked my fingers into her back belt loop, then walked in front of me. “Step where I step. Walk where I walk. Don’t let go.” Other friends met us on the shore, helped me into a car, and drove me back to the house. I struggled to breathe normally. My heart was racing. Did I really almost drown?
Have you been to the point of going under? Where you’ve tried everything you know to do, but nothing is working? It’s often at that very point when a Friend steps in for the rescue.
“I’ve got you. Just breathe.” Can you hear the Savior saying those words? “Step where I step, walk where I walk.” Can you hear the instruction that Jesus offers? Let him lift hold you up when you’re going under. Hang on to him and follow him out of the deep water. Catch your breath.
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you,
and the rivers will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be scorched,
and the flame will not burn you.
Because you are precious in my sight
and honored, and I love you,
Isaiah 43: 1-2, 4
