Recently a group of my friends had a few days holiday together. They all had a wonderful time enjoying the good weather, visiting various places and relaxing in each other’s company. During the penultimate afternoon 5 of them decided to enjoy a swim in the sea. They were able to stand up with the sea only coming to chest level.
Suddenly a wind arose and in the space of a couple of minutes they could no longer touch the sand and they found themselves being carried out in a rip tide. (I will change the names but I’m recounting this story with permission). Mary panicked and was covered by the waves and she went underneath the surface. She was convinced that she was going to drown but then her friend managed to get her to the surface. Elizabeth struggled to keep Mary afloat and put great effort into swimming with one arm to get to shore.
Meanwhile Ruth was screaming for help and Elizabeth had to hold her up too. She freely admits that she is not a strong swimmer and has no idea how she managed to get them both to shore. The other two ladies were also in difficulty but managed to struggle to shore. Mary collapsed in a heap as her legs would not work and she was violently ill from swallowing so much sea water. Ruth was in shock and everyone, needless to say could hardly believe how close they had come to having a tragic ending to their holiday.
Sometimes in life we can be “swimming” along nicely when we suddenly are swept away by stressful situations or perhaps a medical emergency. This is when we need a good friend to help us get safely “back to shore.” Who better to have in our life than Jesus! What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.
Elizabeth was a very good friend as she saved the lives of Mary and Ruth. She said she had a flash in her mind of the newspaper headlines stating, “5 Elderly Ladies Drown in Tragic Accident” and she didn’t want to be known as elderly and that gave her a bit more strength. Personally, I believe that there was a much higher power than a headline helping her to get her friends safely ashore.