Lifejacket

   For a brief time, I lived on a sand bar island in Florida. The backyard opened out onto the bay and if I would have walked straight out the front and continued across the street, I would have eventually come to the Gulf of Mexico. The water was beautiful, and the sounds of it lapping against the barrier were very restful. I learned very quickly that the water, though beautiful, was something that had to be respected.

   People walk in their own little circles, stand on sand bars in life, and feel the waves move the grains of sand beneath their feet. But, life can be full off currents, rip tides, and hidden shoals in the tides. So, I vote for a life jacket. Actually, some days I vote for a life jacket, little army float things, an inflatable dingy and a raft. The thing is that we all need a life jacket. We cannot save ourselves in the water, floating around forever. Instead, we need something to help us keep afloat.
   So, what it is that keeps me afloat? Well, I have learned that my dingy gets water in it not only because of storms, but because I keep putting water in it. The water in it is because of worry. Instead of bailing the water out, I could hold onto worry. It’ s like taking one of those empty coffee cans and filling it up with water, only to pour it into the boat. Not such a great plan. Worry, sin, destruction, the world we live in is a turbulent one. Many times a day we refill our empty coffee cans with water and instead of tossing it back out into the water, we pour it into the boat. With all of that going on, we may find that our boat sinks. Treading water, we realize that we need something that we cannot just keep refilling. We need a life jacket. I need a life jacket that keeps me afloat.
   There are good days and bad days, good choices and bad choices – life is still turbulent. What I need is something that will not fail to keep me afloat, even when my boat fails. My life jacket is the one who created the sea. He holds me even when I fill my own boat.