A Real Lifesaver

It was a hot and festive Fourth of July, and my dear friend had opened her lovely pool to friends and family for a poolside party. Perfection. I was really looking forward to some adult socializing. My kiddos were at ages where they could either swim independently or be self-sufficient with strapped-on flotation devices. We were golden.

Except when we weren’t.

Because my husband and I play zone defense with three kids, sometimes one will squirrel away and try something that looks really fun but is actually completely life-threatening. This has happened often enough to keep us humble and make anyone question our qualification as parents at any given moment. Question away. It’s grace alone that we are all alive and breathing, and that’s all I’ve got.

My husband was helping one of our children with his plate of food; I was helping another. We both assumed the other parent had put the third child’s flotation device back on after he had eaten. Assuming can cause so much trouble in life, can’t it?

Just minutes after we had gotten our other kids settled, we heard our youngest son crying and saw him running toward us, all wet and clearly shaken. Following behind him were two young boys who belonged to another family, just as wet and shaken.

One boy reported, “Well . . . well . . . well . . . I saw him sinking, so I dove in to get him.” And the other chimed in, “Yeah, he was sinking. We had to get him. I went in with my brother, and we brought him back up. But I think he’s scared.”

Time stopped.

There is nothing to say when a near-death experience passes you by. You become breathless. Your heart loses beats. Your ability to respond is gone.

These young boys saw my four-year-old drowning and rescued him. They saw him struggling and saved his life. While I was cutting up hotdogs and trying to be the life of the party, a matter of life and death was happening behind me.

The idea of being saved is only meaningful when we understand the dire situation we’re in. When it’s sink or swim, and swimming is not an option because we have no idea how. When drowning is real.

Friend, we have been rescued from drowning. We have been flailing and sinking since the Garden of Eden, and we keep thinking the others in the pool—also sinking—will save us. Or worse yet, we think we can survive in the water on our own. But we cannot. We don’t have the skills.

The great rescue plan is a gift from God. It is not a result of our own abilities. We don’t have what it takes. We are a floundering mess—like a toddler in the deep end. It is grace alone that is our lifesaver. Jesus Himself pulls us up onto dry land.

Do you feel the weight of your need for rescue? Do you desire the free gift of saving grace in your life? Thinking about my child drowning is all the perspective I need. We are all in dire need of saving, and embracing that need looks amazing on us. Because only through our need can God’s grace show up and restore us back to Him.

Thank God.

Grace Reflection: Pray with me, “God, Your gift of grace is so meaningful when I look my dire situation in the face. You could easily let me sink, but Your unending love has lifted me up onto dry land. I am humbled and grateful for Your saving grace, for Your rescue plan, for Your Son. Amen.”