Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
Psalm 69:1
The truth about treading water is that it does beat drowning.
The rest of the truth is that you can’t do it half-way; staying afloat only happens when you bring all your energies to bear on the effort.
People don’t enter deep water intending to stay in one place indefinitely. But when they find themselves up to their necks, they want at the very least to keep their noses above water until they can generate enough momentum, direction and strength to cut through the waves. This is about as basic a goal as you can have. Keep moving, keep breathing, keep on keeping on, and in good time, when you can, move on.
It ain’t easy. In addition to the stitch in your side and the ache in your limbs, your vision is iffy. You keep getting water in your eyes, see, because you’ve left your glasses on the shore, so everything looks fuzzy. You only have a general idea of the parameters of your situation, where the really deep waters are, and where to turn next. You expend a lot of energy but have much less to show for it than you had hoped. It can be disheartening.
At such times it’s particularly helpful to hear from others who have been in the water themselves and have learned a thing or two.
Today it was my college friend who called out. She has had her share of treading deep waters far from shore. It was in them she learned first-hand that God was with her, as promised. She didn’t just know theoretically about His promises, she was there when He kept them.
To let me know that He would do the same for me in my grief, she created dozens of tiny scrolls and meticulously tied each with ribbons to the perimeter of a white wicker basket. Each has a promise or a hymn or a Scripture on it with my name inserted. Reading them gives me perspective, direction, renewed strength, clarity.
What a lifeline!
