Drowning Depths

   A tranquil bay of water lies like glass. High above, an eagle soars, majestic in a clear, blue sky. Peace settles on all. Nothing seems to be able to pierce it...but it does...like life.  

Out in the now-suddenly stirring waves, a boat turns over. A man is overboard! Struggling to fight the tide, he is really fighting for life. Fear runs through the mind: where is solid ground? Is the treading going anywhere? Who will come to rescue? Who will save? 

  The last time I was at this place, I wondered the same. My world was upended - just like the boat. Rough seas had disturbed the peace and almost as suddenly as now. I found my soul tossed into the cold waters of uncertainty - just like the helpless sailor. I shouted to the skies for a Savior but was unsure if He would come to me and rescue. 

   

   Yet, I have come to believe. I have seen the Hands that lifted me out of the storm and have come to know Whose they are. They could only belong to One.
   Kindly souls spring into action on the shore. The sailor is thrown a life-line and safely brought onto solid ground. Cold, wet, and a bit shaken, he comes walking onto the dry land. I watch and am grateful for his survival...and for mine, too, in another sense. 

   Tranquility returns. All is calm as before, perhaps more so. Eagles fly high once again. Waves lap the shore in constant motion. I take in the reigning peace. Even greater, I take in the love of the One who pulled me from the drowning depths. I am no longer struggling. I am no longer fighting His Grace because coming to the end of my strength brings me to the beginning of His. The end of myself is my deliverance. When I stop trying to save myself, He will rescue. For me, joy has been found in the dark waters. Emerging from what threatened to swallow, I now stand on the solid: Grace eternal.