Do You Have a Life Jacket?

I recently was reminded of a story about a speed boat driver who, having survived a racing accident, described what happened.  He said that he had been at near top speed when his boat veered slightly and hit a wave at a dangerous angle.  The combined force of his speed and the size and angle of the wave sent the boat spinning crazily into the air.  He was thrown from his seat and propelled deeply into the water - so deep, in fact, that he had no idea which direction the surface was. He literally didn't know which way was up. He remained calm and waited for the buoyancy of his life jacket to begin pulling him up.  Once he discovered which way was up, he could swim to the surface. Sometimes we find ourselves in a crisis of surrounding circumstances, too deeply immersed in our problems to know which way is up.  When we are grieving we have similar experiences.  When this happens we too must try to pause and wait for God's gentle tug to  pull us in the right direction.

Our life jacket" may be other family members, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, a friend, another grieving person.  They may help us to recognize our dependence on God.  We really do need each other and God uses others to provide the tug we may need at times.  That means we too can be the "tug" that someone else needs and "tug" rhymes with "hug," so maybe that tug may sometimes be as simple as a "hug" for a hurting person.

As God said to Joshua many, many years ago, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will never leave you nor for sake you." Joshua 1:5