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Lesson Learned

It was our night to have time alone...me and this second son of mine.  Of course, what did he want to do - watch a survival story.  Not the best thing to set your eyes upon moments before bedtime.

It was a story of a man whose plane had crashed into the ocean.  No other survivors.  Alone, he drifted for over 24 hours...submerged in cold, shark infested waters, stung by schools of jellyfish, tossed about by the crashing waves with no land in sight...survival seemed hopeless.  At first, thoughts of panic raced through his mind.  Even thoughts of deliberately attracting a shark so he could quickly be eaten, seemed reasonable to entertain.  Eventually self preservation kicked in, and with clear intent he laid back in surrender to the billowing waves.  As he floated across miles, the sky darkened into the black night.  Exhausted and sure of his emanate death, a log drifted towards him.  The miraculous had taken place and hope was born.  Grasping the tree with all his might, he continued to drift through the black.  As dawn broke he could see.  Land!  It was near.  He would live!  With every ounce of strength he swam hard against the current all the while clinging tightly to the log that had kept him afloat.  Hours passed...the scorching sun beat upon his skin draining every drop of life from his worn body.  Despite his determination to live and draw closer to land the weight of the tree was dragging him further out to sea.  A quick decision must be made.  Continue to hold tight to the security of the log or let go and try to swim to shore.

The lesson slapped me hard.

How many logs do I cling to instead of surrendering and trusting God's plan for my life?  How often do I hold onto relationships that perhaps were a lifeline at one time but now they do nothing but drag me into the under-toe.  How often do I feel like I'm drowning because I won't let go of the weight that pulls me under.  How about you?  Are you holding onto things, jobs, relationships, insecurities you know you should have let go of a lifetime ago?  Lost.  Alone.  Afraid.  Farther than ever from where we should be...still we hold on.  A decision must be made.  Are we going to drown holding onto our false security or are we going to live by surrendering to the One who commands the billowing sea?

Until then...
Jessie

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