Going Under
Posted in Daily Focus on Wednesday, June 11, 2014
"The LORD is thy keeper" (Psalm 121:5a).
I'll never forget the day my son almost drowned. As I sat on the pool's edge after giving my son a swimming lesson, I watched as he played with his homeschooling friends. Since several lifeguards were on duty and the water was only waist-deep, I decided to close my weary eyes and rest for just a moment. Presuming my son was perfectly safe, even though he had only just started to learn how to swim, I allowed myself to drift off.
Suddenly, I heard someone shout in a panicked voice. Looking up and quickly scanning the water, I wasn't able to locate my son anywhere in the pool. Just as I stood up to look further, I saw an older boy pull my son from the pool's deep end. Coughing and choking, he was fighting to breathe. Minutes later, after we were sure he was all right, he told me the whole story: "Mom, I was just trying to practice my bouncing like you taught me. I guess I just bounced too hard and went right into the deep water." I'm not sure who was more frightened, my son or me, and for the next several days, I mentally punished myself as I considered what could have happened.
It's always tragic when young children are injured in an accident. Recorded in 2 Samuel 4:4 is the story of how Mephibosheth, the five-year-old son of Jonathan, was crippled in both his feet. In her hurry to flee after receiving the news of King Saul and Jonathan's death, Mephibosheth's nurse dropped him. Understandably, she was probably worried the child would be killed by the succeeding king, but her haste left this young boy lame for his entire life. However, God mercifully provided for Mephibosheth's needs years later when He moved King David to keep his covenant with his friend Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:15-17).
If you've had a tragedy in your home and struggle with forgiving yourself, God knows your pain. Being a homeschooling parent doesn't mean you can protect your child from every physical bump and bruise. Accidents happen, and many times there aren't any good reasons or answers to explain them. Only God knows what each day will bring, but praise the Lord that even when bad things happen, He is still able to turn them around for good. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Lord, I can't see the good in this situation right now, and I feel like it's all my fault. Please, help me to forgive myself and trust that somehow, You will make sense of this problem. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Comments(9 comments)
ELISHA H 06/11/2010 03:34:50
This devotion is humbling and brings me to my knees!
DONNA J 06/11/2011 05:53:30
So grateful for the grace of God and for the love He shows us through these devotionals. God bless you for allowing Him to use you to reach into our hearts.
DEBI C 06/11/2011 06:19:06
When our youngest was three, the entire family was at a birthday party with several friends. Through a series of events he ended up floating in the pool. He was under for three minutes. When I pulled him out he was not breathing and I couldn't find a pulse. A friend of ours tried to bring him back and he was clenched down - no air in our out. Then another dear friend, who is a nurse, knew exactly what to do and got him back for us. We spent the night in the PICU, had several tests run and had a diagnostic done on his motor skills. Today he is a perfectly normal, intelligent and especially sensitive nine year old boy. For weeks after the accident I cried and dwelt on all that could have gone differently, how terribly it could have been ... it was terrible. Then a friend of ours who is a Pastor said to me, "Debi, I know that day you thought, 'this is the day that Heath is going to die', but the Lord was beside you with your life and your son's life in His hand. The day that Heath is going to die is already on God's calendar somewhere and it wasn't that day. The Bible tells us that it is appointed once for man to die. Only once. No one almost dies." His words really made me think. I knew they were true. And I knew that there was something that I was supposed to learn from what happened. It totally changed the entire focus of priority for our whole family. What really mattered came to the forefront of every day life. I hate that it happened, but I do not wish that it hadn't happened. Because that experience taught me so much about the Father's love, His grace and what He wants me to make most important in my life.
BARBARA R 06/11/2011 09:42:56
That was beautiful. We serve a God that is good and desires the best for us. Amen.
AUSTENDANIEL A 06/13/2011 02:51:43
This Great God, what can HE not do. I bless His Holy name for His love for us all. Halleluyah.
VICKY K 06/11/2012 08:40:03
My five year old daughter died less than three months ago. There was no accident, no fault. She had a seizure (never had one before) and in less than 24 hours she went from a healthy, active little girl to brain death. The doctors are stumped, and it may take a year for autopsy results that might not even be able to tell us anything. I don\'t see the good in this situation right now. All I can do is pray for comfort for myself, my husband, and our remaining three children.
LISA S 06/11/2012 14:40:12
Vicky, I will be praying for you and your family. I can\'t imagine what you are going through right now, as I have not lost a child. However, I have lost others close to me recently, and the pain is so, well, you have to experience it to understand it. I will pray that you can cling to the very chest of the father and cry into his shirt, like a child does when they feel their heart shattered and have no where else to turn. God can take all of your tears, and He will hold you tight and comfort you as only a Father can do. He can even take your questions, confusion, blame and rage. He is patient, long suffering, and will NEVER leave nor forsake you.
You may know all this already, but for some reason I felt led to type this on here. Maybe it is a message for you, or maybe someone else needs to hear it. Either way, know that God is here for you - and your little girl is, right now, seated in His lap, smiling up into His face, while he cuddles her and whispers into her ear, \"I love you!\"
VICKY K 07/03/2012 13:09:22
Thank you, Lisa. I\'m trying. It\'s really hard when no one mentions her name anymore. She may be gone from this earth, but not from our hearts or our memories.
Paula Mullinax 06/11/2014 12:28:09
Vicky, you and your family should never not talk about your sweet girl. Physical death is just a little while. We always talk about our family that have beat us back home. We remember them for who they are. I know that we had to come right out and say that we wanted people to talk freely as if they are because we know they "are" because of the promise of Yahweh! Think of how it is when everyone gets together and starts talking about "remember when....or I will never forget the time....". I will lift you all up for the lonliness you all feel, but never just let her fade away. My friend lost her son a few years ago at an early age, and at the service she was smilingly and praising the Lord. At a get together soon after, she was still talking about him in the present.
We spoke about him in the present and people finally started lightening up. I gently said "its a matter of perspective isnt it?" She smiled and everyone understood. You see her joy and ability came from knowing that he wasnt lost or gone forever, she knew exactly where he went. I changed many people in their faith and views to cling to the Lord and see him as a living God. Let people know that it is b okay to talk about her and everything that goes along with that. Be the person that praises God anyway. His ways are higher and he has our best interest at heart. You never know what she was saved from.