Manna For The Journey - Day 25

Life can be a lot like an ocean can't it? Some days it's smooth sailing and other days it's just best to stay on dry land. For the most part, we can ride the waves of circumstance and navigate pretty well. Water can be a scary thing. It's so vast, so deep, and its difficult to see what lies ahead. Sometimes we see storms brewing in the distance but we're not really sure they'll reach us. Sometimes we get a little big-headed and we're caught right in the middle of a huge wave. About 8 years ago, I had a near death experience drowning. I was on a kayak on the river that happened to be cresting that day unbeknownst to me. I lost my paddle and got vacuumed into a tidepool. The next thing I knew I was standing vertically under water and my life vest was tangled and wrapped around all kinds of debris and logs. I was fighting to get to the top of the water. I could see the light of day through a huge pile of fallen trees, fence posts, and all sorts of trash. Finally, I realized it was no use. I wouldn't make it out of the river that day. Suddenly, I felt a calm and peace surround me. I prayed for forgiveness and asked God to watch over Jake and remind him every day that I love him. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the river bank. I never spit out water and never gasped for air. The friend I was with said I had been underwater for more than 2 minutes and didn't think I would make it. It was the most surreal experience of my life. I was given another opportunity to live that day. But, aren't we given that opportunity every day? Whether we're drowning in water or engulfed by our circumstances, we have the opportunity to live. As scary as it was, I'm thankful for the experience. You see, all waves have a window where the water crests and slopes downward. If we look close enough through that window, there's a rainbow. The rainbow is a reminder of our freedom. We get to choose everyday whether we will allow the circumstances of that particular place in our journey to engulf us and drown us or whether we let our God, the King of the Universe rescue us and set us gently on the bank after the wave has passed.

"When you pass through the waters, 

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze."

Isaiah 43:2