Have you ever been caught in a rip-tide? I’ve never been until this weekend. Michelle and I were at the beach. I went for a walk looking for some nice shells for her. At one point, I decided to go into the ocean. I waded out and dove under some incoming waves. As I got farther out, I began to feel the current drawing me even farther from shore. I’m not a very good swimmer. To quote Andre the Giant’s character in the movie Princess Bride,” “I only dog-paddle.” I told myself don’t panic. In the past, Michelle, a source of all kinds of wisdom, instructed me to swim parallel to the shore if I ever got caught in a rip-tide. So I tried that, but I was still getting pulled out. I saw a surfer dude a little ways off and quickly made the decision to swallow my pride and call for help. He cut through the waves on his surfboard toward me. I continued to swim parallel to the shore in his direction. By the time we met, he told me to grab a hold of his board, which I did. To my slight embarrassment, I found by then I could touch the bottom. I felt a bit like Little John in Robin Hood: Men in Tights after Robin knocked him off the bridge into the trickling, six inch deep brook. [Yes, there are two references to movies with Cary Elwes.] So I managed to walk my way back into shore. My legs were shaking a bit from fatigue (and probably a little bit from fear).
When I got back to shore, I was quite relieved. And so was Michelle when I told her what happened. When we both went into the ocean a little later, we could feel the same rip-tide trying to pull us out. But I would not let it. I stayed where my feet could touch bottom.
Life has many cross-currents and crashing waves that often pull and push us in directions we would never go if we controlled them. But it’s on these side trips we find out a lot about ourselves. I was reminded of my mortality and my need for help.
We would rather be the surfer dude with a deep tan and a fancy board cutting through the waves with a perfect free-style stroke toward the drowning victim. But who wants to be the guy drowning, sputtering and gasping for air, only to find they can actually touch bottom?
We need help. We need Jesus. We need each other.
Shalom.
