Thursday, June 3, 2010

HELP

"Hold fast. Help is on the way.
Hold fast. He's come to save the day.
What I've learned in my life,
One thing greater than my strife,
Is His grasp. So, hold fast."
Mercy Me



Jim complimented me for my picture of the heron. He liked the composition, and said it was neat that I was able to get a shot of a Coast Guard boat in the background.

I said, "What Coast Guard boat?"

"Oh, yeah, there it is."

If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see the orange vertical stripe that marks all Coast Guard vessels.

When I took the picture, while sitting at a park on Mobile Bay, I wasn't looking at what was in the distance.

My eyes were on the heron, and my mind was on the danger the oil spill might pose to it and thousands of other birds.

Bayley and I were sitting in the car, windows down, enjoying a cool breeze coming from a fast moving storm, when the heron landed right in front of us. It pranced back and forth like it was walking the runway on Project Runway trying to get a "you're in" from Heidi Klum. The least I could do for all its efforts and the entertainment it brought to me and Bayley was to take its picture.

He posed nicely, don't you think?

It was very likely that the Coast Guard boat had been out laying booms to block spilled oil from coming into the bay. Oil that could coat and kill the heron. Unfortunately, the safety of the birds, as well as all the wildlife that live along the Gulf Coast could quite possibly be in the hands of the Coast Guard and other trained individuals. It makes me sad; actually it makes me sick that the danger is there.

As I looked at the picture of the heron and the boat that could possibly be its rescuer, I couldn't help but wonder how many times I've missed my Rescuer. How many times have my eyes been so focused on what was right in front of me that I missed my Helper in the background?

How many times have I thought I was on my own . . . that it was up to me to find a way out. . . to find the solution to the problem. . . when He was there, ready to help. When He was there, waiting for the right moment to come in and save the day.

The heron is probably unaware of the danger that is lurking many miles away. But, the Coast Guard knows. It knows exactly where the oil is. It is studying the winds and the tides. They want to do their job and to not be caught off guard.

And, even though life can be pretty scary and I see much that causes fear, My Rescuer knows the real dangers I face. That's why He told me that He would never leave me or forsake me. He knows I have an enemy that wants to kill and destroy me. He knows it all and nothing catches Him off guard.

My Rescuer wants me to remember He's got my back. He wants me to remember that in all the scary moments, when my heart is beating fast and the breaths won't come, that He's there. I don't have to wonder if He is going to show up. I don't have to hope He sees.

I missed seeing the Coast Guard boat in the picture, but it was still there, out in the bay, doing its job. My Rescuer wants me to remember that His presence is not determined by my seeing Him. He is with me because He is faithful, not because He is seen.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

He wants me to remember that He's there so I can be free. Free to do what He created me to do. Free to walk the runway of life. And, free to dance and prance and maybe even fly. He wants me, like the heron on Mobile Bay, to use His freedom to bring a few good moments to those around me.

". . .happy are those
who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the LORD their God".
Psalm 146:5

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