Were you around boats when you were growing up? I wasn’t unless the kiddie boat ride at the fair counts. This ride had little boats that floated in a shallow pool of water. They were attached by spokes to a central motor which turned them in a circle. Oh, I almost forgot about the canoe ride I had when I was twelve years old. I was in the middle as my friends sat at the ends. Each time they switched the oars to the other side, I was splattered with water. That was the extent of my boating experience until I was in my 30s.
That’s when my dad bought a pontoon boat. The first time he took us out on it, I was so excited. I knew that day was going to be so much fun. Dad took us to a cove in a small island. After he landed the boat, he brought out the inner tubes and floats. Since I didn’t want to fish with everybody else, I decided to chill out on a float.
I love the weightless feeling of floating on water. It’s one of the few times I can truly relax. Well, on this day I relaxed a little too much in that I fell asleep on my float. When I woke up, I saw blue sky. Then I looked around and wondered why was I surrounded by water. That’s when I realized that I had floated out of the cove and into Norris Lake. I looked back toward my family. It felt as if I was 100 miles away from them.
Panic was my first response. Even though I was a decent swimmer, it was a long way back. I realized that I had two choices to make it to shore. I could get in the water and cling to the float as I used my feet to paddle my way back to the cove. Or I could stay on the float and use my hands as paddles. I chose to use my hands. As I paddled, I prayed continuously. I didn’t go fast because I didn’t want to lose my balance and fall into the water. As I slowly inched toward the cove, I felt more and relieved.
I have two thoughts on this. One is of the Parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. One big thing I get from this is the fact that you are never so far away from The Lord that you can’t come back to Him. He never stops loving you or waiting on you to return to Him.
My next thought is of Psalm 139:7:“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” There’s nowhere on Earth or anywhere in the universe you can go where God isn’t there or He can’t find you. I don’t know about you, but this gives me so much comfort.
When I finally made it back to shore, I immediately told everybody of my harrowing ordeal. After I finished, they stared at me for a few seconds. Then my day said, “You know I could’ve taken the boat out to get you.”
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.