Caught in the undertow

This post may have relevance to only one of the readers but it has been on my mind all week so I decided it best and necessary to write it.  For those who it doesn't apply to please bear with me.

I was 17 and a newlywed.  For our honeymoon we decided to go to California and enjoy the road trip, introduce me to relatives in San Francisco, and have our premier experience at Disneyland.  Guess that is the joy of marrying young: one can be married and still love the roller coaster all in the same week. 

We decided to stop at an ocean beach.  The day was beautiful and it was quite unlike the Washington beaches.  This one was warm and inviting compared to previous experience where it was always cold and windy even in the middle of summer.

My husband joined in on a game of frisbee so I wandered to the beach.  I wasn't a good swimmer so wanted to stay close to the shore and enjoy wading in the water and feeling the warmth of the sunshine.

I was almost to my waist and a wave came in and knocked me off my feet.  Before I could get my footing the wave went back out and me with it.  I struggled and thrashed but I could feel myself being thrown in and out with each wave.  Each time I was further from shore with the outgoing tide.   The experience seemed to be in slow motion yet at the same time so fast I could not react.  I became terrified.  I knew that I was about to be washed into the sea and no one would find me. 

In my desperation I cried out (I don't know if it was my mouth or my heart but the words were clear) "SAVE ME, JESUS!"  After one more trip out I was practically thrown to the shore.  I stumbled to the shore barely able to sustain my own weight.  My husband took one look at me and asked what had happened as he didn't even know that I was gone.  He consoled me with his own fright and we walked up the embankment and left.

It was one of those brief experiences in life that one never forgets.  I had heard of the undertow but never imagined it's power.  And, I had never imagined my own powerlessness to such a degree.

There is a vast difference in the prayer "Help me, Jesus" compared to "Save me, Jesus".  The first implies that the person praying will somehow be involved in the process.  The second recognises that there is absolutely nothing they can do and without a rescue they will perish.

Maybe there is someone out there who has tried all the "help me" prayers and is weak, weary, and terrified.  It could be about money, relationships, addictions, or other unbearable situations.  It doesn't matter that you may have been the one to walk into that ocean of your own accord but you know that the undertow has caught you and there is no longer anything else you can do.  Cry out "SAVE ME, JESUS".  He will hear you.  He may tell you never to go into that ocean again once He does but that's okay.