by Roxanneh, 2009, MorgueFile.com
Life jackets come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. They are made to fit both adults and children. The main purpose of a lifejacket is to keep a person’s head above the water. They are designed to help us stay afloat even when unconscious. A life jacket is supposed to protect us.
Sometimes we think of another person as our life jacket: our spouse, our parents, our friends.. We’re not Supermen or Superwomen. We need others. We need to be able to trust others. Husbands need to be able to trust their wives, and wives their husbands. And children surely need to be able to trust that their parents will protect them.
But in some circumstances, the very ones we look to for protection are the ones who betray us. Rather than holding our heads above water, or helping us float when we need it, those so-called ‘life jackets’ leave the pool. They leave us alone to fend for ourselves.
So what do we do when we’re in deep water, and our life jacket unstraps itself and skitters away?
For a child, still unable to swim, it’s catastrophe. A child will cry for help, “Save me!”
If we are a husband or wife who has been betrayed, or if a close friend has left us in a less than safe position, we might still say, “Come back. Save me.” But we are not children.
“Save me” is not a sensible, adult response, to the one who’s left us in a lurch. Neither is, “I’ll get you back if it’s the last thing I do!”
The adult response is not to whine, not to seek revenge, but to bolster ourselves by recognizing that we are created for dignity by God. Lean on Him. Listen to His words. He will teach us how to swim on our own.
Because this is what we must sometimes do–be on our own. Life is difficult. People are not always going to be there for us.
But God will always be there for us. Call out to Him.
Translating a World on the Edge 