Sink or Swim

I had been dreading Saturday. I wanted to sleep through the day and wake up on Sunday. I had already anticipated how sad I would be. One of my best friends was getting married and I wasn't able to be there to stand up next to her on a day we had talked about for a long time. My mom was also throwing a baby shower for my sister-in-law where all of the ladies we are close to would gather and celebrate my future little nephew. It was a day I would miss home... A LOT. I was missing the fellowship with my friends, with my family and I was missing two mile stones in two women's life that mean a lot to me. It was a day I needed my husband to hold me up, to listen to me, to hold me and to be the support when I felt so weak and helpless. And he was. He was amazing. He planned a day for us to keep my mind off of everything......

It started out like any ordinary Saturday would. Wes didn't have to work so we slept in, went to breakfast at one of our favorite spots, and then headed to the beach to collect shells.  We spent a couple hours collecting, showing the cool and unusual shells we were finding to each other, and enjoyed the warm sun on our backs. I splashed around in the waves and sat in the sand, letting the water run over me. It was perfect.
Once we were done collecting and we had scoured the whole beach Wes jumped in the water and swam out farther so he could ride over the waves. It seemed gentle and playful but I knew that the waves at this particular beach get big and strong, as well as dangerous so I sat on the beach watching and waving. It was a beach that has the sign "Do not Swim." But I trusted Wes and the waves seems to be ok at the moment.. It was then that he called me in and so, wanting to please him and show that I had an adventurous side I joined him. A few waves went by and Wes showed me how to swim up them. It seemed fine. And then a huge set of waves started rolling in. 8-10ft above our heads. I started to panic. I could no longer feel the sand under my feet and we were getting sucked out farther and each wave that came at us got bigger and bigger.  Wes calmly told me not to panic, usually the waves come in sets of 4-5 so we have to just wait. after 5 waves they kept coming, bigger and bigger. Pretty soon we couldn't ride over the tops and had to dive through them. Wes would grab me, tell me to hold my breath and as the next wave came he would push me under. I'd come up just in time to see the next one but Wes was next to me the entire time. He never let go, he calmly told me what we were going to do, and in the midst of my panic I would do it. After at least 10 waves they started to get a bit smaller, but we were in the white water and everything was getting sucked back in so we had to bide our time and wait to head to the shore. Then we flipped to our backs and kicked as hard as we could and at last I felt sand under my toes but as we turned to look at the ocean a huge wave was already overhead about to break right where we were standing. In a split second I felt Wes grab me around my stomach with both arms and dive back. From there it was a commotion of me falling onto him, doing somersaults in the water and finally being washed up onto the sand. I ran. I ran hard and fast and I didn't look back until I was 100 feet up the beach where I collapsed in a terrified panic, legs shaking and gasping for breath. Wes was right behind, with a big sand burn on his back from taking the brunt of the last wave and grabbed me and held me for a long time. It took me the rest of the day to calm down. I kept having flashbacks, remembering how scared I had been, my legs were like jello for a couple of hours and i was exhausted from the adrenaline and emotion.

On Sunday Wes and I were finally able to really talk about what had happened, and sit down and thank the Lord for not letting anything worse happen. He prayed and I cried and I was able to let go of the fear that was still inside me. As we talked we saw how the whole experience applied to our life. As a married couple and teammates in this thing called life, sometimes we get knocked off our feet. Sometimes it's too much to handle and we feel like we're going to drown. The waves just keep coming and it is all we can do to keep our heads above water and keep on kicking. But we always have the hope that the set will end and things will calm down. At times we don't have the strength, we need help.The Lord is strong and in our completely helpless state. We find strength in Him. When we feel like we're going under His arms are stretched out to us waiting to keep up safe, give us hope and bring peace. In this very scary situation my husband was strong, spoke calmly, never let go, and in the end kept me safe. I couldn't be strong, I was helpless and scared but I wasn't alone. As we sat and talked we thought about how cool it was, that together we are swimming through life and we are there to hold each other up, to encourage each other and to not let the other one sink. There are times when I have to step up and be the one who is strong for him and there are times when he is for me. I am not just talking about life threatening situations. In everyday life if I am homesick, or upset or discouraged, he's the one who brings encouragement, who speaks truth, who prays for me. Times when he is overwhelmed or confused I am the one who holds him up in prayer who comes along side, who encourages him.  And there are times we are swimming together, simply enjoying the peaceful waters. But when those waves do come, I am so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing and strong man by my side.

So my friends, when you are feeling weak, alone, or helpless in tough situations, remember the Lord is right there, waiting to be your strength, to give you peace and to help you ride out the waves that seem too strong to bare.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.