The.Shallows.And.The.Deep
The other day I was sitting pool side with a couple friends chatting while I watched a mother and her baby getting into the water. Stepping into the shallow end with her new born in arms, the mother gently splashed the babies feet with water as the child laughed. After a while the mother ventured out deeper and deeper into the water.
3 feet.
4 feet.
5 feet.
The deeper the mom went the higher the water came up on her new born. And the higher the water came up on the baby the tighter it held onto its mother and louder it began to cry for help. Quickly the mother returned to the shallows and comforted her child.
I met the nicest lady at church the other night. She was very much a social butterfly and had a presence that most would envy. As she seemed to float around the room from conversation to conversation it was obvious that not only did she love the Lord but she was passionate about living life to fullest. I asked my friend if she knew who this woman was. ”Yup thats the worship leaders wife,” my friend said with a pause, “She has 3 months left to live.”
I put myself in those shoes for a second.
3 months left shoes.
Knowing my expiration date shoes.
And if I’m honest with myself I don’t think I could float around the room and have a passion for life like this woman if I were wearing those shoes. I think I’d look a lot like the crying new born as the waters began to rise.
But here is the thing. In the shallows or in the deep that baby would drown with out its mother. But it only cried out for help as the waters began to rise. It only began to hold on tight when the waters inched on up.
How often do we as Christians look like this baby? How often do we only cry out to God when the waters begin to rise? How many days a week do we play in the shallows and forget that God is still holding onto us? And without him we would be dead men?
Whether we are in the shallows or in the deep, whether we know our expiration date or not its my hope that we could live our lives with an understanding that tomorrow isn’t a promise. That today is a gift worth living to the fullest. That our lives are a blessing. And that we should cling to our heavenly father through The.Shallows.And.The.Deep
-Billy
