the lazy river
The resort in Hawai’i where we spent spring break has a lovely feature called the Waikolohe Stream. Our family called it the lazy river, and it was a favorite activity with everyone whether floating down it on a tube, walking or swimming its circuit or racing someone around and around. But the lazy river isn’t always peaceful. Even though it is only three feet six inches at its deepest points, it could be treacherous as well, just as any swimming pool or water feature can. Lifeguards patrol at strategic spots all along the stream to make sure that no one gets in trouble.
One morning David and I were sitting in deck chairs right by where Kamryn was pacing up and down in her seemingly monotonous routine on the river's edge. David is always intrigued by the workings of a place like this, and he asked Kamryn how many rescues the lifeguards really have to make. He expected to hear that there were one or two a week, but Kamryn surprised him, saying that she has to pull someone in trouble out of the water every day. That doesn’t mean that each one requires CPR, but she has to be prepared for that as well.
As if to prove the point, within moments Kamryn took off at a trot, and another man came to take her place. We wondered where she had gone…maybe a bathroom break? But ten minutes later she came back soaked from her waist down. She had had to jump in and rescue someone in another part of the river.
I thought how life is like that. One minute we are floating along, feeling so peaceful and assured. But the very comfort that we’re enjoying can hide a current that can turn dangerous. We need to be prepared. The author of Psalm 88 knew this to be true. “Adrift among the dead…you have afflicted me with all your waves…your terrors came around me all day long, like water they engulfed me altogether.”
Lord, have mercy. I pray with my fellow believers, “Let not the floods overwhelm me nor the depths swallow me up. Rescue me, Lord, as your compassion is great.” Be my lifeguard, Jesus!
Love, Liz
